Pokémon Soul Online
by skyranger48
Summary: Our hero Kirigaya Kazuto, or Kirito ventures into the world of a VRMMORPG very similar to SAO, but Pokémon, for lack of a better description. Rated T for future chapters, will probably contain romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. Thank you for reading this fanfiction. **

**It has been hard thinking of new ideas for fanfictions with lots of homework to do. Also, I'm sure everyone is waiting, anxious for the next Sword Art Online episode to air. I know, so am I. **

**The idea for this fanfiction was made when I played my Pokémon game while thinking about «Sword Art Online».**

"**What if Pokémon had a VRMMORPG just like SAO? What if the battle system was just like SAO, only with «Moves» instead of «Sword Skills»?" The ideas filled my head, and I couldn't stop thinking about the numerous possibilities. Of course, that was only normal.**

**Sorry for the long ramblings and hope you enjoy the story.**

* * *

"Haaa!"

I shout as the sound of my black blade, clashing against the body of the bulky enemy surged throughout the area. The bluish, rocky crystal-like figure staggered backwards and let out a weak crunching sound. It fell to its side and disappeared shortly after, fading away into nothing.

A display menu appeared in front of me. It said, '**Boldore** fainted. Obtained 550 EXP'. On the bottom side there listed a single item, **«**Everstone**»**, a common item dropped by the creature. I pressed OK on the menu and it disappeared with the sound of ringing bells.

"The **Boldore** here are pretty persistent" I thought to myself while examining my surroundings. I was inside a quite large cave with dangerously sharp stalagtites hanging from the ceiling. The sound of dripping water can be heard, a BGS I wasn't too fond of. I turn to look at the display map. **«****Mistralton Cave»** it said with big, bold letters. There was an enemy cursor behind me on the mini-map, and I turn back. It was another **Boldore**, ready to strike with _Rock Blast_. It launched three rocks at me, which I easily dodged, while the fourth managed to slam my shoulder. My HP bar on the top left side decreased by about 5%, and I sigh.

Raising the blade on my right hand slightly while changing the positioning of my feet, causing a purple light to shine from the sword. The attacking system here works similarly like Sword Art Online's **«**Sword Skills**»**. All I had to do was assume the starting position, and the system would take care of the rest, including damage calculation and knockback effects. Things like my stats, the enemy's stats, and 'Types' also affect the damage calculation.

In this game, each character, move and creature has their own 'Type'. These types determine our strengths, weaknesses, resistances and much more. Each type has their own Weakness and Resistances. The enemy I am facing now is a _Rock-type_, which is normally weak to _Water and Grass_, but I have no moves of those types, and instead I prepare my favorite move, _Night Slash_. This _Dark-type_ move's specialty was that it landed criticals quite often, and it strikes very quickly. It's very efficient, and is one of my favorite moves.

The skill finished its charge, and I launch forward at the **Boldore**. It clashed with the thick stone defense and caused it to slowly move back. Finally, I launched it at the wall and it crashed. I was about to lower my guard when I still saw its HP bar ; A very small tint of red at the edge of an empty rectangular bar floating next to it.

I completely forgot.

The **Boldore** had a passive ability, _Sturdy_. This ability allowed them to endure even the strongest attacks with one HP remaining. I shook my head and picked up a small rock, slightly smaller than my palm and held it over my head. The rock glowed slightly, and I launched it at the **Boldore**. With a weak sound effect, it connected and the monster lost its remaining HP. This was a skill that everyone could use, 'Throw'. Well, technically, there was an actual move in this game called _Rock Throw_, but no one ever uses that.

Another experience gain screen appeared at the side, which I completely ignored. It disappeared shortly after. I continue walking into the depths of the dungeon.

This was a hidden cave I found while scouring the outskirts of Mistralton City. I stumbled upon the entrance by chance, but it might be part of the quest I was taking. As for the quest, I found an old house near the city, and the NPC inside told me about the Swords of Justice. They were a quartet of creatures also known as the "Legendary Musketeers". It seems that the requirements for this quest was to have a great proficiency for One-Handed Swords, which apparently I had developed greatly.

Passing a small water hole, I look into it and see my reflection. A feminine face often mistaken for a girl's. A mix of black and white long hair adorned with a small gray-blue oval on the forehead, resembling the shape of Yin from the Yin-Yang symbol. Two weak red eyes were staring back right at me. There was a ruff of white fur around my neck and chest, with a grayish dark-blue body underneath. I was wearing a black battle tunic. There were small black spikes protruding from the back of my elbows. A single, sickle-shaped horn grew from the right side of my head. I still had fingers, but they could turn into circular paws with sharp claws when I needed them to.

This was my **Absol** form.

In this VRMMORPG of **«**Pokémon Soul Online**»**, us players can catch the creatures roaming the land, known as Pocket Monsters, or Pokémon for short. Once done, they turn into a small egg-shaped object known as the **«**Soul**»**. We can keep up to six of these, and they are listed under "Soul" from our menu. This is accessible at any time and allows us to **«**Merge**»** with the soul of that Pokémon.

Merging with a Pokémon soul will change our appearance to match that of the creatures. Just like now, I am merging with the soul of an **Absol**, a _Dark-type _Pokémon I managed to befriend earlier in the game. Of course, our appearance will differ because the NerveGear, the software for this game registers our face and size. So even if there were a hundred of the same players merging with the same Pokémon soul, there would be individual differences between each.

An interesting aspect of the game is that we, players, are not given a level. Our level will be that of the soul we are currently merging with. If one soul increases in level, the others won't. Our stats, movesets, and types also change with different souls. So training individual souls can be hard, but tt's a good idea to have diverse souls ready for battle so we can exploit the enemy weaknesses to our favor.

Currently, my **Absol** soul is level 42. The only other one I have is the **Dewott** soul I received as a starter Pokémon soul, which is at level 34. I liked it because of its _Razor Shell_, an interesting _Water-type_ dual-wielding blade move. I had used it until I found an **Absol** hiding around

Capturing creatures inside this game is fairly easy, with **«**Poké Balls**»**. The mechanism was the same with the old games ; All you had to do was throw it at the target and wait for it to be caught. You had to weaken the Pokémon before catching it, of course. It was a hard battle to get this **Absol**, but in the end I managed to do it. After being caught, they will directly transfer to your Soul list, ready to be merged with at any time.

I took a sip from the clean water source and wiped my mouth. The feeling of cold liquid went down my throat. I wasn't drinking anything in real life. The NerveGear sends signals to our brain, and that stimulates the taste. Even though I lost only a little HP, it filled right back up.

Opening my quest log, it said "Find the **«**Musketeer's Emblem inside Mistralton Cave**»**". Supposedly, there should be an NPC somewhere that will hand me this item, thus triggering the next chain of events and finally leading me to a powerful Pokémon, most probably. I close it again, checking the area map from my inventory.

I've mapped quite a lot of the cave area from the entrance up until here. I was now on a floor lower than the entrance, and there was only one area left unmapped. It was a small path to my right, with a seemingly big room after it. Without hesitation, I ready my sword and walk through it.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The background sound really gets to my nerves. The background music had a mysterious feeling to it, and didn't help either. I walked slowly, trying as hard as I can not to disturb a group of bluish **Woobat **hanging silently from the ceiling. I focused hard, and my steps became as silent as the night. This was one of **Absol's** traits. _Nightwalker_, a trait that enables a Pokémon to avoid detection while walking. This helped a lot in places surrounded by groups of Pokémon, as I was hardly ever travel with a party.

After successfully passing the monsters, the mapping ended and there was a large cave in front of me. The inside was dark, and I couldn't see anything. "A passage to a new area" I thought. I gulp as I walk in slowly. The surroundings change, and I couldn't see anything behind me anymore and my body stopped moving for a short while.

Regaining my control, the scenery around me slightly changed. It was illuminated, unlike the previous area, but it was still rocky. The map name changed, and now it was **«****Guidance Chamber****»**. Not knowing what that actually meant, I pressed on forward.

After a few steps, an NPC came into my visual sight. He was a common old man NPC.

"Must be the one I'm looking for".

I approached him, as a number of **Woobats** swoop down from the ceiling, each one using _Psybeam_, a _Psychic-type_ move that shoots a peculiar wave at its target. I didn't even bother dodging. The move connected, but not even a single point of HP dropped from my vivid green bar.

There are a total of 17 types in this game, as well as a few minor affinities in this game. The basic types are as follows:

_Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon and Dark._

Now, I am a _Dark-type_ at the moment. The **Woobats **are using a _Psychic-type_ attack. If I were to explain simply, _Psychic_ attacks don't affect _Dark-type_ Pokémon at all. So even if a million _Psychic-type _attacks would be directed at me, I wouldn't feel anything. In turn, if I were to be hit by a _Bug-type_ or _Fighting-type_ attack, I would suffer a lot of damage.

With _Night Slash_, I rapidly make a circular motion and slash all the **Woobats** around me. Since they were part _Psychic-type_, the attack kills each of them in one blow due to their weakness to it.

A term used for an attack that hits the opponent's weak point is "Super effective". So, I just landed many super effective hits on those bats. I've also noticed there is an EXP bonus for landing super effective or critical hits, so I try my best to do so.

This is also a reason why partying with multiple types is a good idea. Some enemies might have attacks that will greatly damage one teammate, but another might have a resistance to it, so they could take the attack for the disadvantageous one. The same goes for us ; With different types, we can easily attack different kinds of Pokémon's weak points.

Oh, and another thing about this game. Each soul can only have up to four **«**Active Moves. If we level up and learn a new one, we have to choose to either forget a skill we have learnt, or not learn the new skill at all. This can be hard when choosing the right moveset, as "type coverage" is also important. Even though I'm a _Dark-type_, that doesn't mean all my moves should be of that type. I have another move, _Aerial Ace_, which is a _Flying-type_ high-speed slashing attack that will never miss. In other words, it cannot be dodged, but is still blockable. But combined with my quick speed, it usually strikes before the opponent can block.

This move is particularly useful against both of the typings I am weak to, as I've stated before. Both _Fighting-type_ and _Bug-type_ are vulnerable to _Flying-type_ attacks. This move has always been a key out of dangerous situations, and therefore, I always keep it with me.

The **Woobats** fade away one by one, as the usual display screen appeared on my right side, and disappeared. I check my Experience bar, which is conveniently located under my HP bar.

It was about half-full, the blue meter filled up until the middle of the wide bar. It should still take awhile before I level up again. Sheathing my sword into a dark scabbard with golden motifs attached to my back, I moved closer to him.

Abruptly, an exclamation mark icon appeared above him. Then he faced me and started to talk.

"I saw your skill, boy. Very impressive for someone so young. Maybe you're the one... Hmm... It may be possible..."

When a dialogue event like this occurs, you cannot move away from the NPC's area until it's done. So I can walk around him, but he'll always face me and continue talking. We enter some kind of semi-invulnerable state like this, where the wild Pokémon cannot damage us.

"How about it? Would you like to listen to an old man's story?" he said as a menu popped up with the selections "Yes" and "No". So it looks like all I can do now is listen to the ramblings of an old man. I tap "Yes" lightly.

"In the distant past, when Pokémon and people lived in different worlds, a war between people started an intense fire in a forest where many Pokémon lived. The Pokémon were surrounded by smoke and flames. They were in big trouble. And then, the legends **Cobalion**, **Terrakion**, and **Virizion** appeared!**"**

**Cobalion**, **Terrakion**, and **Virizion**. So those were the names of the three legendary Pokémon.

"**Terrakion** used its amazing strength to destroy rocks blocking the escape route. **Virizion** used its quick movements to protect Pokémon from the looming flames. And **Cobalion** led the frightened Pokémon out of the burning woods."

The man took a small step to the right.

"The people who started the war were routed by the power of the legends. Because of those three, the war was ended."

Now the man was walking in small paces, going left and right, turning from one side to another. He seemed really into his story. He must have been programmed like this.

"When people fight, there's no peace for Pokémon, either. The three legends learned that the deeds of humans could lead to dire consequences for their world. They cut themselves off from people and disappeared. No one saw much of them after that, and the three faded into myth..."

The voice had a hint of mystery in them, which I kind of liked. This guy would make a good storyteller. That is, if he were real.

"I've been searching for them for decades, and I finally figured out that one of them was deep in this cave. But the legendary three do not trust people. If people approach, they bare their fangs and attack. It can't be helped, because they only know the old world..."

Now he was clutching both my shoulders with a kind of horrifying look.

"They still don't know the world has become a place where people and Pokémon try to understand and help each other. You seem like you might be able to show them that people and Pokémon can trust each other and live together. If they take another look at people, I think they will stop hiding from us..."

I regain control again.

So, one of them is somewhere in this cave. As I suspected.

"Right. This is a charm that I have. It might be the key to the legendary Pokémon's presence" the NPC continued as he gave me the item, **«**Musketeer's Emblem. It went straight to my "Quest Items" pocket, and I check its description.

"_An emblem with a sword-shaped symbol embedded on it. Said to be the key to the legendary musketeers"_

I materialize it, and it began to glow slightly. "Maybe if I move closer to the legendary Pokémon it will react to it," I thought. As if reading my thoughts, the NPC spoke again. "The emblem will react when you are near the legendary Pokémon"

With this in mind and clutching the emblem, I press on forward.

I climbed a rocky staircase up to some higher ground. There were strange green Pokémon there. Using my 'Analysis' skill, their name, general description and type were displayed. My analysis skill wasn't very high. With a high analysis, you can see things like their exact HP, moveset, passive abilities and potential item drops.

They were **Axew**, an uncommon _Dragon-type_ Pokémon found only in this cave. They had a cute little posture, with strange looking tusks protruding from their mouths. They didn't look vicious, but I chose not to disturb them anyway.

The area wasn't that large, and all that was left was a part of the cave that hasn't been unmapped. Taking precautions, I equipped a black cloak that increase my hidden affinity. There were a lot more Pokémon in the area, and I didn't want to take risks, even with _Nightwalker_.

After a cautious dash, I managed to reach the unmapped area. It was some kind of small room with no other exits. It was a dead end, so this must be the place I'm looking for.

Suddenly, the emblem on the palm of my hand started glowing. I prepared my position, my black sword in the other hand. The BGM faded slowly, leaving the sound of dripping water in the air.

After a while, the flashing stopped. I sensed a quick movement from behind me, and reflexively brought up my blade to parry while turning my body 180 degrees.

Wham!

Before I was sent back flying, there was a flash of blue as a force clashed with my blade with great strength. I managed to stay on my feet, but my green HP bar was now about 85%, even after my block. The attack must have either been too strong for me to block, or had a piercing effect. Raising my blade away from my eyesight, I got a clearer view of my assailant. I held my breath in shock.

An aqua-blue, goat-like Pokémon stood gallantly before me. It had a white tuft under its neck, and several small gray spots on its body. The colour of its snout was slightly lighter than the other parts of its body. There were blades on its shoulders, resembling fins. Its horns resembled thunderbolts. It was now staring at me with the coldest glare I've seen since playing this game. A red cursor marking it, two HP bars appeared to its left, and the name "**Sword of Justice, Cobalion**" appeared on top of it. No doubt, this was a boss I had to defeat.

Analysis showed **Cobalion** to be a part _Fighting-type_, part _Steel-type_ Pokémon. With two types, they usually have less weaknesses, one being covered by the other. For instance, **Cobalion's** _Fighting-type _is weak to my _Flying-type_ attack, _Aerial Ace_. But the _Steel-type_ resists it, so it would only deal normal damage.

As for my typing, I'm at a total disadvantage. Both _Fighting_ and _Steel_ resist _Dark_, so my _Dark-type_ attacks wouldn't do much at all. Plus, my type is weak to _Fighting_, so that makes it hard for me. I quickly brainstorm for countermeasures, lowering my guard.

The artificial intelligence seemed to notice this, and the boss tucked its head, gray light charging through its horns. It was the charge for _Iron Head_, a tough ramming attack that can cause me to flinch. Luckily, it should be easy to dodge. I prepare my footing, ready to jump the moment it strikes.

But the strike went earlier than I thought. I somehow managed to dodge in time, but the attack scraped my left arm. My HP went down by about 5% and I stumbled backwards. Not letting up at all, the boss went straight to a turn and opened its mouth, showing sharp fangs. Blue light flashed from its whole body and it charged at me. This was its signature move that caught me off guard the first time, _Sacred Sword_. I wasn't going to fall for this one, and quickly raised my blade vertically, anticipating from its positioning, predicting that the attack would be horizontal. That was a bad guess. The AI disguised its movements so elaborately, I couldn't predict the actual direction of the attack. There wasn't any time to block.

I learned how to read attack patterns from **«**Sword Art Online**»**, but most enemies there had actual weapons. Some attack patterns in this game are like SAO, with a method to somehow render the skill useless by blocking it, countering it, and other ways. But with the addition of **«**Moves**»**, like **«**Sword Skills**»**, the styles now greatly vary, and I had to rely on instinct most of the time.

There are three types of active moves in PSO. They are "Physical", "Special" and "Status". Physical moves, like the name states, is a type of attack where the user physically hits the target. Special moves are like most offensive Magic in normal RPGs, and they usually attack from a distance, some even having 100% accuracy. Status moves are more like support skills. They may vary from increasing or decreasing stat bonuses, inflicting status problems to enemies, or even special effects like escaping from battle and such.

I had a status move called _Double Team_. This move allowed me to raise my evasiveness by creating illusory copies of myself. The command trigger was a three-step method that can be done in a blink of an eye, if you were fast enough. Taking a step slightly to one side with the appropriate foot, then lowering your knees, and dashing to the side opposite of the prepared foot. I quickly did those steps, pressing my right foot down and dashed to the left. Many clones of myself circled around **Cobalion**, confusing the Pokémon and making it miss its first attack.

The were still five illusory copies of myself around it. **Cobalion** looked left and right, unsure of where to strike. Then I saw a chance. Preparing my _Aerial Ace_ stance, bright red light glowed on my blade without the boss knowing. Without a moment's notice, I launch at **Cobalion** from the back.

As I expected, the boss had no time to react, and the attack connected. A flash of red light slashed it's back, and a good chunk of it's HP disappeared. The second HP bar was smaller than the first, so if I were to calculate, it should have taken 15% of damage from its full health. The Pokémon roared, and began a stance I am familiar with.

_Swords Dance_, a status move that increases the attack sharply, while conjuring four small blades around the user. These blades can be manipulated for attacking, blocking, and much more. Sky-blue light enveloped its body, and four glimmering swords formed in the air around it.

This is bad. One clean hit from _Sacred Sword_ will kill me for sure. _Double Team_ could dodge it, but the AI would now recognize my movement patterns. I'm doing my best to avoid using _Night Slash_ for two reasons. The first had already been explained. **Cobalion's**typing doubly resists it. Second, it has the passive ability _Justified_. When hit by a _Dark-type_ move, the Pokémon with the ability increases it's attack stat. So using _Night Slash_ definitely wasn't an option.

As for my passive abilities, I have three. This is the maximum number of **«**Passive Abilities**»** one can have.

The first is _Pressure_. To explain this one, I'm going to have to elaborate slightly about the game mechanics.

In this game, every **«**Active Move**»** has a limit to it's usage. This game doesn't use MP (Magic/Mana points), so each move can only be used a set number of times. That set number is called Power Points, or PP for short. Every move has it, and it fully heals every time you step into a town or a safe zone inside a dungeon. For instance, now my _Night Slash_ has 8/18 PP. This means that I have used it 10 times since the last town or safe zone I entered. Using it 8 more times will make the PP 0, and render the move unusable until the points are healed.

Now normally, using a move will only deplete 1 PP. My ability, _Pressure_ forces the opponent to use 2 PP for each of their attacks. Very useful indeed.

The second is _Justified_, exactly the same as **Cobalion's**. Though I doubt the beast would have a _Dark_ move in it's arsenal.

The third is _Super Luck_. It increases the critical hit rate of all my skills, so I can land them more often. This ability has saved my life more than once, and even if it's based on luck, I still find it reassuring knowing I have a higher chance to deal more damage.

It doesn't look like I have a choice. The last move in my active slot is the _Psychic-type Future Sight _attack. As far as I can tell, **Absol** have the power sense disasters and warn people of the impending doom, so that's probably why I can learn this move. I obtained this move somewhere around level 36 or so, but I've only used it once against a wild Pokémon.

Images of me dying flashed through my mind when I used it. I saw the Pokémon I was battling inside that deep forest stage, a **Scyther,** digging it's blades through my stomach and causing my HP to reach 0. I didn't like the sensation, so I never used it again.

But now wasn't the time to be picky. Starting the stance for _Future Sight_, I stiffen my body and stand up straight holding my sword facing upwards with both hands. My whole body was enveloped by purple light, and then more images flashed through my conscience.

**Cobalion** throwing a _Sacred Sword_ horizontally at me, knocking me back and depleting the rest of my Health Points.

I quickly opened my eyes as I saw the boss dart at me, baring its fangs ready with its signature move. Remembering what I had seen in that vision, I quickly raise my blade vertically on my left hand side as the Pokémon launched its _Sacred Sword_.

It looks like the prediction was correct, and there was the sound of clashing metal. I desperately hold on as I saw a stream of blue light connect with the middle side of my blade. In terms of endurance, I was going to lose this one. But I didn't give up that easily.

I let go of the blade as the force flung it away from my hands, and duck down. I hastily roll to the side of the Pokémon while it was focused on the flying blade, unable to detect me. Using _Double Team_ again, I made three copies of myself, and made them all look like they were jumping right at the boss. In the midst of confusion, I pull out a new blade from my inventory and prepare _Aerial Ace._

Crash!

A clean hit on its head, exactly in the middle of its horns. The writing CRITICAL appeared over the part where I had hit it. Its HP dropped into the red, the shorter bar completely depleted. Looks like that was a critical point.

"Kaa..." it made a moaning sound as it staggered back. The boss fell to its front knees, and gave me a look begging for mercy. Returning the sword I had used back to my inventory, I pick up the black blade on the ground.

"Looks like it lost a lot of durability" I speak to myself as I sheath it back to the scabbard behind my back.

**Cobalion** stood up again, but now its HP bar was not there anymore, and the cursor has now changed into a blue one, used for quest NPCs. It gave me a graceful bow, or at least that's how I saw it, and an item materialized in front of me.

**«**Cobalion's Crest**»**

"_Proof bestowed by Cobalion only to those who have gained its trust" _

**Cobalion** looked at me one more time, and with a flash of light, it disappeared. Now the room was quiet. I stare at the ceiling for a while, not sure what to do. The old man NPC from before approached me from nowhere.

"It appears you have gained **Cobalion's** trust. Maybe the other two, **Terrakion **and **Virizion** will appear now"

"So... The quest wasn't over?"

"Do you think the three can be reunited and made to believe that this world is unlike that of the past?" he asked me rhetorically and continued.

"You, boy, are the only one that can do so. This may be rude, but may I have your name?"

The system in this game should already know the username I had inputted for this game, but it looks like I should give him an answer anyway.

"My name is Kirito" I say with a small voice.

"Kirito..." he repeated thoughtfully. After having heard the sound and pronounciation of my name, the system processed the NPC to say it again, but with his own voice. At least, that's how the NerveGear would have processed it from my brainwaves.

"Believe in yourself for the challenges yet to come, boy"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

I look at the time. It was already 10 PM. I didn't notice it was already this late. Opening the menu, I click the log-out button, and the world disappeared before me.

Everything went black, and then I slowly open my eyes. There was a ceiling made of wooden planks. It was my room, Kirigaya Kazuto's room. Moving my arms, I took of the helmet shaped headgear I had worn, and sat up straight. Looking around, it wasn't anything to brag about. Dimly lit, with only three pieces of furniture inside, including the bed I was on. The other two were a computer hard-drive and a router.

Yes, this was the real world I had returned to about two months ago.

* * *

**Well, that's it for the first chapter. The story will take place after the SAO incident had ended, just like the next part of SAO.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading it, and please post reviews so I can do better on the following chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone. Thanks for the reviews.**

**I'm not very good at double checking, so I know there might be slight mistakes in the story. As for the story, I hope this chapter will clear up some things about where the plot stands.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I felt dizzy. Standing up from my bed, I stretch my back.

"Ahh, I really need to keep track of the time" I moan. Scratching my head, I opened the door to the outside.

I was thirsty, so I went downstairs to grab a drink. The NerveGear only makes us think we're not thirsty. Though I felt a surge of cold water in my throat, it was still parched.

The wooden steps creaked slowly as I step on them. A small voice came from the kitchen, and a head popped out from the opening leading there.

The girl had short hair cut above her eyebrows. It was black in colour, with tinges of blue, but the lighting could hardly differentiate colour at the moment. Her sweet face had a kind of boyish appearance to them.

"O-Onii-chan? You're still awake?"

The girl slightly blushed, hidden by the darkness as I lightly patted her on the head.

"I was about to ask the same thing to you, Sugu"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

I downed his glass of water like I haven't drank in days. The girl in front of me opened her eyes, and noticed me gazing at her. She turned away reflexively. Placing my half-empty glass on the table, I rest my elbow next to it.

"So, what have you been doing?"

I asked her with a slow, calming voice.

"N-Nothing, really"

"But Sugu, shouldn't you get some sleep?"

"Ah, it's fine. Tomorrow's a holiday anyway"

"Holiday?"

"Ah... I-I mean I'm taking the day off"

Suguha was a smart girl, so she had recommendations. People like her tend to skip school to focus on more important things. Suguha only usually attends her kendo club.

She took a sip from her glass of water opposite mine. The light chirping of crickets filled the air like a nighttime BGS. I start to speak again.

"Tomorrow, I promised to meet someone"

Her eyes seem to widen at the statement and she stopped drinking. I noticed this little reaction and smiled again.

"I mean online. In an online game"

"Oh... I see"

Suguha thought deeply. In actuality, she had also promised to meet someone in an online game tomorrow.

At first, Virtual Reality didn't have any meaning to her. She didn't really care about games and only played simple ones, not the high-technology consoles that had been released all around Japan. But after seeing her brother get wrapped up in this trouble, she had started to wonder. What is this world have that compelled my brother to play it excessively, ending up in this disaster?

I want to see it for myself, she had thought back then.

"I want an Amusphere" Suguha asked her mother.

Kirigaya Midori looked at the girl and nodded slowly.

"Just take care not to use it too much. Oh, and pay attention to your physical health" she replied, laughing.

The next day, Suguha talked with Nagata Shinichi, a friend of hers which is a so-called genius in the art of games.

"I want you to teach me how to play VRMMO"

When Nagata heard her statement, he made strange faces, but finally asked her what she wanted to know.

Suguha told him that she couldn't afford to spend less time on studies or kendo practice. Nagata thought long and hard, but he shrugged. "Currently, all the VRMMO games are kind of time-consuming and mostly level-based" he said disdainfully.

The girl thought for a while, and without thinking asked him for the most popular game at the moment. The boy told her that «Pokémon Soul Online» was the current popular game, because of its uniqueness and the aspect of "Pokémon" which she was actually familiar with.

She had once seen a Pokémon game played by one of her friends in grade school. Her friend had lectured her into the basics of it and Suguha, being a quick learner, understood completely, albeit she was never given a chance to play. Now that she was given a chance, she wanted to know more about it, while venturing deeper into the world of virtual reality.

What she didn't expect was Nagata to play PSO with her. However, while he plundered with his problems, Suguha had adapted to the game with amazing speed, despite the levelling needs.

The fights in PSO were also based on physical skills. In general, players just attacked the enemy and took its attack in return. This would continue until one of the fighters could not fight anymore. But Suguha was able to easily dodge or deflect attacks.

One other thing she liked about the game was that it also had the ability to Fly. By capturing a _Flying-type_ Pokémon, one would gain the ability to "Fly" around. She had done this slightly late into the game, but once she managed to capture and train an **Unfezant**, a dual-type _Normal _and _Flying_ Pokémon, she felt how it really feels to swoop through the air at high speeds.

Suguha was plagued with the physical limitations in kendo matches, wanting to move faster, strike harder and go further. The flying in the game was fully controlled by one's actual movement sense. So you had to flap your wings in time, but the experience was exhilarating.

After a year, Suguha is already considered a full-fledged VRMMO player. Although she had started to play to get closer to her brother, she had fallen in love with the virtual world.

She was surprised to hear her brother playing virtual reality games again after only one month of recovery. She had never told him about her experiences playing PSO, but her brother looked like he had a new motivation to play.

Maybe it has something to do with «that person», she thought. Maybe she had something to do with her brother's motivation.

"Did you find anything new about Asuna-san?" Suguha asked without thinking, unexpectedly changing the mood of the room.

After hearing the question, I happened to lose myself somewhere in the middle of the sea of thoughts, having flashbacks of my own.

Asuna...

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

When «Sword Art Online» ended, or at least, when I thought it ended, Kayaba Akihiko told me he had logged out all the remaining players.

When I awoke, I found myself at a hospital room. Not knowing what to do, I just wandered around until some nurses took me back. Some time later, a man rushed to me. Apparently, he was the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the SAO Countermeasures Division.

The long-named organization seemed to be formed immediately after the SAO incident, but in the last two years, there was nothing they can do. Of course, that was only natural. If someone tried to infiltrate the server without putting Kayaba Akihiko's trap in mind, thousands of players would get their brains fried.

Instead, they made preparations to observe the status of the victims laying in the hospital. They could still survey players from server data, but that was all they could do.

Finally, they found me. I was high-levelled at the time, so they followed my progress up until the game was cleared. When SAO players everywhere started to wake up, they rushed here first.

I revealed my conditions to the government official. I would tell them all I knew. In exchange, they were to tell me what I wanted to know.

I had asked about Asuna's whereabouts, and it turns out she was admitted to another medical institution in Tokorozawa. However, Asuna... No, not just her. 300 players across the country have yet to wake up either.

Once my rehabilitation was completed in a mere two weeks, I had been paying Asuna visits. That was an extremely tough time. The feeling of something more important to me than anything else being taken away from me without reason hurts more than anything.

But one time, I completely forgot what day was it, I had went to her ward and visited her as usual. I had realized it was already noon and proceeded to leave her room, when the sliding doors opened. Two men walked in the room.

"Oh, Kirigaya-kun. Sorry for the disturbance"

The first man seemed older and had a sense of authority around him. His physique and appearance gave him a spirited and confident aura, but had grey hair, a testament to his two years worrying about his daughter. This was Asuna's father, Yuuki Shozou. I was surprised to hear he was the CEO of the electronics company, RECTO.

I bowed my head slightly, "Hello. Sorry to interrupt, Yuuki-san"

"That's not a problem. Having you always come here like this, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sure it pleases her more than me"

Walking around the room, he finally stopped near Asuna and started to stroke her hair gently. After a short while, he walked over to the second man.

"Ah, right. This is someone new. He's the director of our research institute, Sugou-kun"

He looked to be someone trustworthy. He was tall, and wore yellow framed glasses. He reached out his hand.

"Nice to meet you. I am Sugou Nobuyuki. You must be the hero, Kirigaya-kun"

"Kirigaya Kazuto. Nice to meet you too"

I shook his hand, then cast a glance at Asuna's father.

"If you're wondering his purpose of coming here…"

"President, please—"

The man named Sugou Nobuyuki interrupted.

"I want to state that matter formally to everyone next month"

"Is that so? But you still have a long life ahead of you…"

"My mind is made up. I want to take advantage of this time when Asuna is still beautiful"

Asuna's father nodded. "Well, I'll be taking my leave. See you, Kirigaya-kun"

The old man walked out the door just like that. Only me and Sugou were conscious in the room. The tall, lean man walked over to the bedside and stroked Asuna's chestnut hair. It disgusted me.

"Kirigaya-kun. It seems you and me will have quite the interesting relationship, don't you think?"

I was confused, but when I made eye contact with the man, I realize this man wasn't what I had thought he would be.

"About what I just said… It is about Asuna's marriage to me"

My body felt some kind of large mental shock as Sugou's remark shot through my thinking process.

"But of course, getting her approval like this would be nigh impossible. On paper, I'm an adopted son of the Yuuki family. But this girl has hated me for some time"

"You dare exploit her current condition!?" I snap at him, disgusted.

"Exploit? No, that's not it. Kirigaya-kun, do you know what happened to SAO's company, Argus?"

"They broke up"

The man suddenly looked very pleased. "That is right. With the incident, the company ended up getting bankrupt. Now, SAO's server maintenance is under the responsibility of RECTO's FullDive technology department. Specifically, mine"

He gave me a demonic smile. "In other words, I'm the one keeping her alive. I don't know what happened between you and Asuna in the game, but I want you out of her life now"

Hearing this, I suddenly became furious. I couldn't do anything. I gritted my teeth.

"Oh right. The wedding is here, next week. I'll invite you"

The man patted my shoulder and left the room.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

I had started playing «Pokémon Soul Online» because of a certain piece of information I had received from a trustworthy person.

Exactly a month ago, I received an e-mail from Agil. We had actually met for the first time in Tokyo and exchanged email adresses, but this would be the first time he contacted me like this.

The message title read, "LOOK AT THIS". Opening it, I only saw a single attached image and no other text.

Looking at the picture, I could tell that it was a virtual world. The composition was incredible. The background was a blue sky, and the setting took place on some kind of cliff near the water's edge. Vividly coloured flowers bloomed in the foreground, surrounding one female character sitting in the middle. Looking closely at the face of the girl—

"Asuna!?"

The girl right there had familiar long chestnut coloured long hair covered by some kind of leafy green pelt. There were pink flowers with two leaves each on both sides of her head. Aside from that, the person had to be her.

Grabbing the phone off the table, I dialled Agil's number without hesitation. I just jabbed the buttons as they made light beeping sounds. The ringing felt like it lasted an eternity, but finally the line connected and a deep voice answered.

"Hello—"

"Hey! What was that picture all about!?"

"Look, Kirito, at least introduce yourself first"

"I don't have the time. Just tell me already!"

"It's a long story. Can you come over?"

"Right away!"

Without waiting for a reply, I hung up the phone and grabbed a change of clothes. Never in my life have I showered, dried my hair and worn my shoes so quickly before. In no time, I was already pedalling my bike. The road seemed so long, even if I had used it many times.

«Dicey Café», Agil's café located in Taito Okachimachi.

Opening the door, the sound of ringing bells sounded. There was a bald man at the counter, and he looked up to me. There weren't any other people besides the two of us here at that time.

"Oh, you're quite fast" he said with a deep voice.

"There aren't any customers around. Is business poor?"

"Sure, it's slow now, but it picks up during the night"

This pointless conversation calmed me a little. Keeping in touch with the other SAO players was a difficult thing.

Agil was the first person I had visited. His real name is Andrew Gilbert Millers. By ethnicity, he was an African-American. His parents took a liking to Japan and he opened his coffee shop-bar here at the age of 25.

Looking at the shop itself, it gave of a relaxing feeling. There were tables and chairs set up, and chairs lined up at the counter.

I sat on a leather stool, ordered a cup of coffee and started to question Agil about the picture.

"So, what's the deal with that picture?"

Agil didn't answer straight away, and instead brought out a rectangular package from under the counter, and handed it over to me.

The packaging was that of a game software. «Amusphere» was clearly printed on the top right corner.

"What's this?" I pointed to the writing.

"That's «Amusphere», the next generation of FullDive technology. In other words, NerveGear's successor"

I wasn't sure what to say. Noticing my expression, Agil explained a little.

Six months after the SAO incident started, a new company was founded, with a slogan of "Absolute security". We were trapped in Aincrad at that time, so we had no knowledge of this.

"So this is a VRMMO as well?"

I held it high as I inspected it. The picture showed a white figure resembling some kind of Qilin or Centaur, with a gray, vertically-striated underside. A long mane extending from its head, and its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils. There was some kind of golden cross-like wheel attached to it's stomach part. Below the illustration was a title, «Pokémon Soul Online»

"Pokémon...Soul Online? Wait, so this is a Pokémon game?"

Agil nodded. "Yep, and it's very popular for all ages"

"But knowing Pokémon..."

While I was thinking, the man placed a cup of coffee in front of me. I continued to ask him.

"What's the game like? I think I can imagine an RPG with Pokémon"

"Hmm... Well, from what I've heard, we don't battle alongside Pokémon anymore. We fuse with them and they become one with our soul"

My eyebrows raised as I drank the steaming cup of bittersweet liquid. "That sounds pretty interesting" I commented after putting the glass down.

"Well, they say it's difficult"

"Difficult how?"

"The game plays real-time combat style. It's like SAO without «Sword Skills». Instead, we have skills known as «Moves». In fact, other than it being a Pokémon game with its usual complications, the technology is pretty much the same as SAO."

"Ah, that sounds pretty impressive..."

Thinking that someone would make a VR world of the same degree as Kayaba Akihiko is a little hard to believe.

"But why a Pokémon game?"

"Popularity, I'd bet"

I saw no point further inquiring about the actual game. Quickly, I ask Agil. "Could you tell me more about that photo you sent me?"

Agil looked stern, but then nodded.

"So in this game, the world is divided into many regions. Each region has its own explorable places. Now, this photo was taken from the Sinnoh region, somewhere to the East. One time, some people found a glitch in the server that transported them to this flowery place. They didn't last long as they were banned from the server shortly after, but they managed to take pictures before being sent out."

"I feel sorry for them"

"One of those pictures is this one here" Agil took out the picture he sent me and placed it on the counter. "What do you see?"

Looking at the picture, no matter how I did it, it always somehow resembled Asuna.

"Asuna..."

"Figures. I think so too, but the resolution is pretty bad"

"So... This was...?"

Agil nodded. "Yeah, this was one of the pictures that they took. It was from quite the distance, and they were sent out right after taking this picture, but it looks like this was taken in an area normally unaccessible to normal players"

"Sounds mighty suspicious" I said as I picked up the box again. Looking at the logos, I saw familiar ones, but my eyes suddenly stop moving as I stare at one particular logo.

«RECTO»

"What's wrong Kirito? You look a little pale"

I remember what Sugou Nobuyuki had said to me. SAO's server was under the maintenance of RECTO. Asuna was still sleeping, connected to that server. Plus Asuna's current condition would benefit him greatly. This couldn't be any normal coincidence.

"Agil, can I have this?"

"Sure, but you're really going?"

I nodded slowly. Agil gave me a doubtful look. Standing up from the counter, I inserted the packaging into my small bag.

"Do I have to buy the software?"

"AmuSphere games can be run on NerveGear. Just maybe some functions won't work"

"Uh, okay"

Placing some coins on the counter, I thanked Agil for the drink and information.

"You can always pay me back some other time" he smiled. "For now, let's end this once and for all"

Changing into a serious expression, lines formed on his forehead. This is for our—no, everyone's sakes. I nod, and with that, I left his cafe.

Afterwards, all I remembered was rushing straight back to try it out.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Onii-chan? Are you all right?"

I raised my head as I saw Suguha's slightly worried face stare at me with great concern. Thinking about it all again, I had completely forgotten I was still here in the kitchen with Suguha.

"I-I'm fine"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that" the girl pouted apologetically.

" No, that's okay"

I look at her innocent face, but she couldn't meet my gaze. I scratch the back of my head, wanting to change the subject.

"So, anything interesting happen lately?"

The girl reacted strangely to this statement. "N-nothing. Absolutely nothing interesting happened" her voice trembled slightly. Odd reply, I thought.

Standing from my chair, I stretched my back. Looking around, there was nothing interesting in the kitchen. I also had run out of topics to speak about. The girl also stayed quiet for a moment. I finally speak;

"Guess I'm going to sleep. Night, Sugu…"

The girl looked at me, confused. But then whispered.

"Good night, Onii-chan"

I smile back at her and climb up the stairs.

...

Once the click of Kazuto's door could be heard, Suguha placed her chin on the table and stared at the now empty glass in front of her. From there, she could see her reflection, however distorted.

"We really don't look alike, do we?"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

**Meanwhile, somewhere inside Pokémon Soul Online**

Asuna sat on the grassy meadow. The wind felt cool, but she couldn't enjoy it. Her distraught face turned to all the directions, but she saw nothing but the blue sky in the distance.

After SAO ended, she had faded into the darkness together with Kirito. But instead of seeing the real world which she had longed to return to, bright lights flashed around her and she fell here.

No, that wasn't right. At first, she fell into a deep, dark prison like place. She could still feel the pain and loneliness from the first time she came here. Despair filled her heart. Where was Kirito-kun? What had happened to her? All those questions she had come up with were answered sooner than she thought.

Looking at her body, she was now merging with a Pokémon named **Shaymin**. She didn't understand the concept at first, but adapted to it. She wasn't allowed to move around the places accessible to normal players, so all she had been doing was moving around hidden areas, only unlockable with very rare events.

She met **Shaymin** here, at **«Flower Paradise»**. She wasn't sure how she managed to merge with it. She wasn't a player in this game. She was a prisoner.

"Kirito-kun...save me..."

Realizing someone was behind her, she stayed quite still. There was only one other person that had full access to places like this.

The one who controlled the server itself, or in other words, Sugou Nobuyuki.

"A beautiful expression indeed, Asuna-san"

He laughed sinisterly and walked into her line of sight. Asuna looked up, and saw a face that ever so slightly resembled the man she despised.

PSO originally ran with AmuSphere, in which you can customize your appearance, possibly making it so that you don't look like your actual self. But for people playing it with the NerveGear, since the original SAO server had scanned their actual faces and bodies, it is registered as is, unable to be changed. So Asuna had looked exactly like her in real life. Well, almost exactly. The exact same thing happened to Kirito, but Asuna had no knowledge of his existence in this game.

Sugou loved telling Asuna stories of his accomplishments, or self-promotion and the likes. That day, he told her that he had just met Kirito at her ward. After leaving with a smug face, Asuna felt so happy that Kirito was alive and well. She has been holding that little sliver of hope ever since, believing that Kirito will save her from this catastrophe.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked almost sarcastically.

Asuna turned her face away, but Sugou crouched down and placed his hand on her chin, forcefully pulling her face so that her eyes faced his.

"I don't have anything to say to you, Sugou Nobuyuki"

The man pulled himself back, and stood up once more. He looked just like the Pokémon on the cover of the game, **Arceus**. Said to be the God of Pokémon that created the world.

Laughing slightly, he took a few steps to her right.

"I won't force you, but soon you will be mine"

"So foolish, that can't happen"

"Foolish? Is that so...?"

With a sinister grin, he walked so that Asuna was on his right-hand side, facing the other way.

"Do you want to know something interesting? This game, this world... Many people dive into it and have fun. But they don't know one thing. This isn't just a game"

Asuna became silent, a reaction to his words.

"The NerveGear and AmuSphere are just the machine's interface. All they can do is intercept brain waves, giving environmental illusions, is that not? But think about it... What if there were no limits?"

His voice had become so soft, it was creeping Asuna out.

"...The functions outside the brain, like thought, emotion, memory... Those all can be controlled!"

"Such...Such things will never be permitted" Asuna retorted.

"Ha ha ha. Kayaba Akihiko was a genius, but he was a fool. He had the ability, but wasted it and settled for just a game world. The server was unaccesible at that point. But when everyone logged out, all I had to do was hack into the router and the world was mine to manipulate."

Now he was pacing around like an NPC. Asuna had always listened to his stories, hoping to find some actual useful information out of him, but this is monstrosity.

"With that, I was able to get 300 test subjects. In reality, no such facility could store that many people, but virtual reality has more than enough room! Thanks to that, my research has made great progress. The manipulation of the soul! Truly a wonderful thing"

Asuna grimaced. "I can't allow that. My father won't allow that"

"Of course, he has no idea. This research is conducted by a very small team, and someone is waiting for the results"

Asuna had turned her head to face him at this statement, gaping.

"A certain company is waiting for this research to finish. I plan to sell this technology at a high price. RECTO will eventually become mine!"

Asuna couldn't say anything. She was shocked that this man would go so far for his selfish ambitions.

Sugou suddenly stopped moving. Shaking his hand to open the window, he turned towards it and gave instructions.

"I'm coming now. Wait for instructions"

The window disappeared with a sound effect, and he turned back to Asuna.

"The day you fall for me is approaching quickly. Would you like to submit to me now, perhaps? Or shall I turn you into a stage for my experiment?" The wry smile showed itself again.

The tall man walked away and disappeared, Asuna not taking note on how he did it. Silence filled the meadow as Sugou's last words replayed in her mind over and over again.

* * *

**This chapter didn't have any in-game battles or anything, and was mostly storyline. So an action packed chapter is coming next!**

**Note: It might take awhile for me to update, so please stay with me.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone. **

**Yeah, it took me awhile to update.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Bright lights flashed past her line of vision as Suguha stated "Link Start!" to start the FullDive process. It wasn't a holiday, but Suguha took the day off anyway. She had worn a plain t-shirt and slumped herself onto the soft bed next to the eccentric machinery. Soon unable to move her physical body, the load option appeared in front of her.

After applying the neccessary commands, a message saying "Logging in" appeared in front of her. Flashes of light continued, and soon after, she could feel a different light surging into her virtual eyes. Her vision was still blurry, but soon it focused.

An orange coloured ceiling materialized itself. It was the ceiling of a **«Pokemon Center»**. The safest way to log out in PSO was to rent a room at the center and "sleep" there. That way, your safety and privacy is assured.

Suguha sat up on the bed and looked around. There were a few pieces of wooden furniture inside; The small bed she was on, a small chest, a wooden table and a mirror.

Food and things like plants can expire if they are kept in the inventory for too long. Keeping those items in some kind of storage won't make them expire.

The girl stood up and looked in the mirror. The person that looked back had almost no similarities in appearance whatsoever to the real Suguha. This, of course, she had customized herself. A tall average blonde with good stature. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she had some kind of green sprout growing from her forehead. Her ears resembled those of elves, slightly extending to the sides with greenish highlighting on the edges as opposed to the bright yellow skin underneath.

She was seeing Lyfa, her in-game character merged with a **Leafeon** soul. The sight of her like this, as some players would say, is very refreshing. Her immense beauty mixed with the flourishing sprouts of the Verdant Pokémon made your eyes bloom with nature. After a year of playing, she had gained much popularity due to a number of reasons.

The first was that she was a female player. There aren't too many female players when compared with the males, as they are the dominant gender in most online games. Second was that her combat skills are pretty amazing. Her kendo practice paid off in the battles here, as they are in full-motion. Third was that she had partied with a pretty famous player's group and that greatly increased her popularity, since that person's influence was a pretty powerful thing.

Speaking of which, "that" person should be online by now. Checking her friends list, only two were listed. One was Recon, which was Nagata Shinichi's profile while the other one was Kirito. Oddly enough, both are online at the moment.

"What's Recon doing here?" Lyfa asked herself. It wasn't unusual, but she wondered anyway. After confirming that Kirito was online, she exited the room.

It was a pretty big place. There are players healing themselves at the «Healing Point», some buying things at the general store, and some accessing the «Storage System» from the PCs there.

In addition to the six souls we can carry on us, we can keep a number of souls inside the storage system, and we can only switch the ones on hand with the ones inside the storage by accessing the PCs. Lyfa hadn't the need of the PC, as she only had 4 Pokémon souls in total.

The **Leafeon **soul of hers is her strongest, and not to mention her most popular. She had just achieved level 60 with it and was overjoyed. It was a pure _Grass-type, _meaning it had quite a lot of weaknesses and very little type advantages. But Lyfa liked challenges, and even managed to beat lots of powerful Pokémon with it.

Its «Passive Abilities» weren't half bad either. _Leaf Guard_ prevents her from being inflicted by status problems, such as paralysis. _Chlorophyll _on the other hand, doubles the movement speed. The only drawback was that both abilities only activate during sunny weather.

Weather in PSO was an interesting concept, as stated by Lyfa herself. Normally, the weather would be "clear". But there are some times where the weather changes. The weather has many forms, but the most common would be sun, rain, and snow. Different areas may also affect the weather. There are some areas where it always rains and such.

Another thing to alter the weather would be using «Moves». Currently, there are four moves that can alter the weather. They are as follows; _Sunny Day,_ intensifying the sun's rays and making it sunny. _Rain Dance, _calls upon a downpour around the vicinity. _Hail,_ summons a hailstorm from the sky. _Sandstorm, _creates a sandstorm within the area. Each move will normally have only 5 PP each, and each has a set time until it wears off, which usually takes its time.

Lyfa brings along _Sunny Day_ with her, in case she was surrounded or was facing a tough enemy. It really helped so far. Once, she lost herself in the forest and stumbled upon a nest of **Amoonguss**. **Amoonguss** were known for spraying fumes that will cause status problems to anyone who disturbs them. With the help of _Sunny Day_, she became immune to its toxics and managed to defeat them all quickly. She also had _Solarbeam _to benefit from it, which is a very powerful _Grass-type_ attack that usually takes quite a long time to charge. But with Sunny Day in place, the charge was no longer than a few seconds.

Lyfa went outside the center door, and was greeted with a breezy morning wind. Paved brick buildings decorated the bustling morning streets of **«Lacunosa Town». **The place gave off a rural feeling, something that reminded Lyfa of the old Japanese buildings she visited during one of her field trips, although this was more modernized. The atmosphere was relaxing, as she walked down the road.

In the morning, this town would be crowded by NPCs and players. But as night comes, the streets would be empty from NPCs. This is due to the old folktale passed down in these parts, called the "Lacunosa Legend". Lyfa remembered an old lady somewhere in this town that told her about it.

It was her first time here, and the time of day was night. She had wondered why the town looked deserted. Taking a walk around, she passed a house where an old lady was staring at her through the window from inside. Curious, she entered the house, and was warmly welcomed by the NPC. After being offered some free dinner, the old lady told her a story. If she remembered correctly, the story went something like this:

_A long time ago, it is said that a large meteor came from the sky and landed not far from the town, containing a terrifying monster. At night the monster would appear in the town along with cold winds and take away humans and Pokémon to eat them. Eventually, the residents of the town surrounded Lacunosa Town in a wall to keep the monster out. Afterwards, a rule was set on the town that forbade anyone from leaving at night and encouraged people to stay in their homes._

Apparently, it was the start of one of the game's "Hidden Quests", although she didn't put much effort into it. She had asked around for information, but no one claims to believe in that folktale anymore. Even so, they still stay inside of their houses at night and the walls remain standing to this day.

Remembering that she went to meet Kirito, she enthusiastically started running down the street, and abruptly stopped. They had promised to meet at **«Linked Tower»**, a large building in the middle of the Unova region. It said that in every region is a tower exactly like it, and that there is a portal on the top used for transporting through regions. But to reach the top, you had to go through a dungeon consisting of one large floor. Strange how such thing could fit into a tower, but the game mechanics can't be argued on. It wasn't a walk in the park either, but after seeing Kirito's determination on going up that tower, she couldn't resist helping her. After all, he told her that all his power-levelling was done so he could climb it.

Why was Kirito in a rush to climb this tower? Lyfa wondered this as she walked back to the «**Pokemon Center»**. Returning to the main lobby, she found a door and went inside it. There was a large blue monolith propped inside the middle of the room. When she went nearer, a message appeared in front of her. It read, "Touch the monolith to be transported to the **Entralink**". Touching it, she was quickly engulfed in blue light as she felt her body lighten. A bright blue flashed before her, quickly turning into white. In a blink of an eye, she was transported to a different place altogether.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

**«Centerlink City»**, a city positioned inside the **Entralink**, also serves as a base for those exploration teams who dared to explore the tower. As a dungeon, the floor layout of the is always changing. Plus, the difficulty level of the Pokémon there are unlike any other. So if a party is going to venture inside, then they must be fully prepared for it.

There are a bunch of interesting places here, but Lyfa went for the plaza directly. She wanted to prepare for the trip, and where else would be better than the plaza?

When you die inside **«Linked Tower»**, you get warped back to the base, but you lose half the money and items you are carrying, excluding Equipped items. It is a good idea to leave the cash on hand and rare items you don't want to lose at a bank and item depository. There was also shops and bazaars prepared by both NPCs and other players there. And if her hunch was right, Kirito should be there too...

Running down the earthy path, she saw the hustle and bustle of crowds not too far away. Lyfa focused her vision and saw a figure leaning to a tree next to the plaza entrance.

It was... Kirito!

Without noticing, she paced faster and faster. Before she knew it, she was running at maximum speed. Realizing this, she tried to slow down, unable to stop the motion in her legs. "Kirito-kun, help me!" she screamed in the air.

The black clad boy stood from the tree, realizing the girl running towards the entrance at full speed. He looked at the figure from a distance, and smiled. Walking towards the front of the entrance, he faced Lyfa and readied his arms like a goalkeeper.

"W-wait, Kirito-kun... What are you..." before she could finish her sentence, she closed her eyes as she went into an abrupt stop. A sound, like a sonicboom erupted around the area. Lyfa could feel a tight grip on her shoulders, and looked up to see Kirito grinning. The girl quickly jumped back and fell down.

"Wh-wh-wh..." Lyfa stammered. Kirito offered his hand, and Lyfa took it reluctantly.

"At least you're ok, right?"

Lyfa didn't object. She hid her face down.

"Umm, Lyfa..."

The girl raised her head again and saw Kirito pointing at something. Then she noticed that she was still holding Kirito's hand. "Uwa..." she quickly released it. "Um, thanks".

Kirito smiled again and turned to gaze at the tower looming above them. It sure didn't seem that wide, but according to other players, the inside contrasted with its outside appearance. "We'd best be prepared" Kirito said again.

Lyfa nodded and they both went to the plaza. After a while of restocking, depositing items and the like, they found themselves at the gate to the cobalt blue building. Lyfa gulped as the tension filled the air.

Taking one step forward, she heard someone call from behind.

"Lyfa-chan!" that familiar voice resounded throughout the area.

Looking behind, was Recon, much to her surprise. He was short, had kind of a clumsy face, and was merged with the soul of a **Kecleon.**

The **Kecleon **soul gave Recon an intimidating look. Yellow rings around his eyes and a red zigzag stripe on his belly mixed well with the soul's green reptillian skin, matching his hair.

"Are you seriously going in there? With this guy?" questions blasted out of his mouth with a slightly squeaky voice. It was clear he was worried, but Lyfa didn't seem to notice.

"Yep. He wants to do it, and I'm tagging along" she responded smugly. Recon's face drooped down and he slumped over for a second. The next, he straightened his back and faced the girl. His in-game avatar is slightly lower than Lyfa's, so he had to look slightly upward.

"S-shouldn't you think things through. I mean, Sigurd-"

Lyfa's face tensed slightly at this remark. Noticing this, Recon stopped speaking. Kirito, who was listening to the conversation, asked a question. "Who's this Sigurd person?"

The two turned to see the white-furred warrior standing a short distance from them, and Lyfa cleared her throat.

"Um, so me and Recon, we joined a dungeon raid party some time earlier with this player called Sigurd. He's well known around these parts for being popular and powerful altogether. We gathered some loot and he said he wanted to split it up among the party members, and that we were requested to gather somewhere to do it now. But I wanted to help you..."

Kirito thought for a while. Lyfa started speaking to the person standing next to her.

"Tell him I'm not coming" she said. "B-but Lyfa-chan..." Recon tried to retort, but to no avail. She returned to Kirito's side shortly afterwards, but Recon didn't move an inch.

"Isn't it better if you got your loot?" Kirito asked bluntly. Lyfa gave a weak smile, "No, it's fine. He's a jerk anyway"

Facing the tower, they heard Recon wince. Turning back, they saw what looked to be some kind of elite player with large armor plating on his head and body. Some kind of helmet covers his face, with horns protruding from the top. Clearly, the big bodied man was merged with some kind of heavy-armor Pokémon. Not just that, his equipment seemed to be pretty high-levelled. Slightly taller than other players, he had a handsome face, which is the result of time consuming customization. Behind him were some other people, probably party members.

"S-S-Sigurd-san" Recon stuttered as he felt the color drain from his face. Lyfa also looked surprise, and bit her bottom lip.

The person Lyfa was talking about earlier stood right in front of their eyes. He was the leader of a super-active group in PSO, which meant massive gaming time. For skill, he is on par with Lyfa in terms of physical combat, but Lyfa possessed much more speed while Sigurd had focused on strengthening his defenses. The Pokémon he equipped, **Aggron**, was a tank of its own. With superb defenses and resistance to quite a lot of attacks, Lyfa always had a hard time when facing him one-on-one.

She didn't know what he was doing here, because they were supposed to meet at a totally different location. From Recon's reaction, it didn't seem like he had anything to do with it either.

"Hello, Sigurd" Lyfa spoke, trying to hide the disdainful expression by smiling. Sigurd didn't seem to have the best mood as he looked at her sternly and said in a strained voice, "Are you leaving the party, Lyfa?"

The girl didn't know how to respond, but finally said yes and told him she wanted to take things easy. The expression on the man's face stiffened.

"How selfish. You're a well-known member of my party, so if you leave it would ruin my reputation" he retorted.

Lyfa remembered when she joined the party after defeating Sigurd in a really tough battle. Although at that time, she had asked for two conditions. She would only participate when she can and she could quit when she wanted to.

Recon once told her Sigurd wanted her to increase his fame, not for her amazing combat skills. Also he warned Lyfa not to be too deeply involved. Lyfa didn't believe him at first, because she had been in the party for a while without any significant problems. Until today that is...

Things were tense for a while, as Lyfa was thinking on her next course of action. People had started gathering around them and whispering amongst themselves. The hushed voices made her lose concentration. But as she did, Kirito who had been paying close attention to the scene took a few steps toward Sigurd and spoke up,

"Your friends are not items"

As he said this with quite the voice, the area around them silenced.

For a second, Lyfa didn't get the meaning of the sentence. When she did, her eyes opened wide and then looked at the boy.

"What was that!?" Sigurd raised his voice to reply.

Kirito stepped between Lyfa and Sigurd, then proceeded to turn toward the big man and look him in the eye, despite the clear height difference. "I mean you shouldn't treat other players like a weapon you can lock into your equipment slot".

At Kirito's words, Sigurd stepped back and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"You dare to... You do not understand this situation"

Lines developed on his forehead as he prepared a stance to draw his sword.

Kirito himself prepared to do the same. More whispers came from the now highly numbered audience. It looked as if a duel was about to begin. Lyfa stood there, her eyes hidden by her golden hair.

"How about we settle this with a «Duel»?" Sigurd offered. "If I win, Lyfa will return to my party". A smirk developed on his face. He was a prideful person, and always wanted to show off to everyone. The whispers become louder, as they were anxious to see the famous Sigurd in action.

Kirito, on the other hand, stayed perfectly cool. Only Lyfa and a small number of others had seen his real battle skill, as the boy had kept a low profile ever since he started playing.

"And if I win? Lyfa can go?" Kirito asked him.

"Well, it's not like you would have a chance to win anyway" Sigurd replied bitterly, and whilst laughing sinisterly sent Kirito a single-battle request. Kirito just stared at the request window hovering in front of him.

"No time limit. Only one «Soul» permitted, no swapping in the middle of battle. Last one standing is the winner" Sigurd explained the conditions of the match quickly, looking a bit impatient waiting for Kirito to accept. Finally, he did, and a 30 second timer started counting down waiting for spectators.

When a «Duel Request» between players is accepted, a notification is sent to all nearby players in the area, giving them the option to watch or not, because when the timer hits 0, the competitors and other players who decide to spectate are sent to some kind of battle stadium area. As expected, most of the gathering people decided to see the climax and end of this conflict. Only Lyfa had yet to accept the spectating offer.

The timer hit 10 seconds and is counting down. Kirito walked beside Lyfa, who had her face buried in her hands. Five seconds left, and suddenly Lyfa turned to Kirito who was now next to her. The girl's eyes were filled with a mix of emotions, such as anger, confusion and so on.

"I never agreed on betting myself, but since it came to this, promise me you won't lose" she said slowly, her face filled with worry. Kirito nodded to give her assurance, and the next thing they knew they were all enveloped in bright blue light.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

The **«Duel Colosseum» **was grand. It's design was slightly futuristic; The archs and walls made of some kind of silver metal. It was practically indestructible, and not a single move could leave a dent on it.

The tribunes were filled with quite a lot of spectators. People all over had heard that the great Sigurd was having a duel with some person, who was me apparently. The reason for the duel was kept secret, of course.

The field in the middle had rough dirt, and no obstacles. A perfect place for Sigurd, as he didn't like obstacles in his way, or so says Lyfa. I preferred the basic hit-and-run method for powerful tanks, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to do so here.

His equipped **Aggron** was part _Rock-type_ and part _Steel-type. _In terms of «Moves», my **Absol** was at a total disadvantage. He resists both my _Night Slash_ and _Aerial Ace._I chose **Samurott**, who had just evolved from **Dewott** today, for the duel, even with a huge level disadvantage.

**Samurott** was a sea-lion like Pokémon, with long white whiskers extending from its head. On the back of its head was a beige coloured helmet-like shell. There was a spear-like horn protruding from the front. The rest of its body was blue, and there were shells covering my arms and legs like some kind of bracer. The ones on my arms were the scabbards of **Samurott's** built in weapon called the «Seamitar» but I don't use it much because it was too light and too short. Normally I would use it like a dagger.

Being a _Water-type, _I have an advantage against the part _Rock-type_, and I resist _Steel-type_ attacks. But I'll need to be careful, because he will most probably have a counter against a blatant weakness like that. It's only common sense.

Sigurd smirked, waiting for me to get ready. When I was set, another 30 second countdown began. This was to signal the start of the battle.

I held my new double-edged blade, the «Atlantea», in front of me. It was a crystal blue sword made of a metal tempered inside the undersea volcanoes for years. It was heavy and I liked it. Sigurd pulled out some kind of greatsword, matching the size of mine. It looked pretty powerful, but I didn't have time to analyze it because there were only 5 seconds left on the timer.

Everyone looked impatient. I could sense their unfaltering gazes upon the two of us on the field. Three... Two... One...

The bell rang, with the "Duel Start" message showing in the sky. Battle background music played as I took initiative. Pressing my feet against the ground, I dash towards Sigurd, who looked unfazed.

I slashed horizontally from the left, but to my surprise, he blocked it with the flat part of his greatsword. Sparks flew as he pushed me back. I jumped back twice to make some distance.

"Take this! _Stone Edge_!" Sigurd exclaimed out loud, creating stones from nowhere. The pointed stones flew at me but it was an easy dodge. What I didn't notice was he had the _Iron Head_ move ready while I was busy dodging. So he rammed me in the stomach and sent me back flying.

"Kirito-kun!" I could hear Lyfa's voice from amidst the cheering. I stood up again as I checked my HP bar. It wasn't very effective, but made quite a dent. It was down to about 80% with just that.

"Heheheh, is that all you got, boy?" Sigurd started teasing me, and then looking at the crowd. The cheers were quite enthusiastic. I looked at them myself and noticed Lyfa and Recon. Lyfa had her hands on her chest, while Recon had a worrisome face.

Readying a stance, I tried to attack using _Razor Shell_, **Samurott's **signature move. But even he anticipated that, and suddenly yellow shocks of electricity formed in his hands.

"That can't be..." I thought to myself.

Before I knew it, Sigurd released the electricity and it aimed straight at me. "Take this, _Thunderbolt!_". I almost had no time to react, but then I quickly dug underground. Namely, using the _Ground-type _move, _Dig._

The thunderbolt couldn't hit me under here, and Sigurd had a doubling weakness to _Ground-type_ attacks. My only hope was if he didn't have _Earthquake_, a move that can still hit me underground. Normally, he wouldn't. Being a team player, having _Earthquake_ would mean damaging your friends too. But as I was thinking this, the ground started shaking, and my worst fears had been realized.

I was directly shot up from the ground due to the shockwave, and it sent me flying. "Gwaaaah" I screamed as the force took me by surprise. The crowd went wild, and I crashed on the ground. I opened my eyes slowly, and noticed my HP bar was already less than half. Sigurd didn't have a scratch on him yet.

On the contrary to what Lyfa had told me, this guy was definitely going for the attack all the time. I might be able to find an opening to strike, but...

Firmly grasping the blue blade with one hand, I stood up as I looked into his face. "With that kind of skill, you won't be able to defeat me in a million years" he said selfishly.

Thinking back, I tried to remember the methods I learned from «Sword Art Online». The methods on defeating highly-defensive creatures that focused on attack. There were a number of creatures with those characteristics, and this guy in front of me was no different. In fact, he should be inferior to them.

If I can't beat this guy, I won't get any closer to Sugou. I can't lose. Not here.

I let out another raging scream as I confronted him once more.

* * *

**My holiday's almost over, so I'm not sure I can do frequent updates. I'll try to update as fast as I can.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone. **

**First things first, I'm sorry for not updating in quite a long time I guess.**

**So hey, better late than never.**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

The face of the man that stood before me. I remember it all too clearly. It was a sinister face, one that can only be owned by an ill-thinking man. I could even read his thoughts. He was sure he had won this battle. Everything was going according to plan for him. Once he won this duel, I would be finished and he could get his ways. He could reap all the fame and fortune, forcing Lyfa to do his bidding.

But no. I know a face of a person much more sinister than this one. And if I can't beat the one in front of me, then it's all over.

Still screaming, I brought the blade for a swing from the right side. Anticipating my attack, Sigurd parried the slash, where I expected as much. Right before the blades clashed, I twisted my grip. I used the impact of the blade as a push so I can take advantage of the velocity to spin for a surprise attack from the other side.

This worked as I expected, and I managed to slash Sigurd's other arm, inflicting a small amount of damage to his previously full hit point gauge.

"Argh" Sigurd grunted. I jump back a few steps, and look at his expression now. It was a slightly irritated one. He must have wanted a perfect victory.

"I see you have at least some skill, boy. Why not join my party instead? Together, we can become the best players of «Pokémon Soul Online»" Sigurd attempted to coerce me. But I won't fall for it. Only a weakling would resort to a method so lowly. I clenched my teeth, as my lower body posed for another attack.

Recalling what few moments have flashed by, I can clearly see his moveset. _Stone Edge, Iron Head, Earthquake and Thunderbolt_. Quite a solid one for offensive attacking. The only move that uses physical contact to deal damage is _Iron Head, _so short ranged quick attacks will be the most effective, as he wouldn't have time to use his move that way. His other moves work from a distance, so I was at risk when moving too far away from him.

I readied _Razor Shell _once again, blue light radiating from my blade. He went for the _Thunderbolt_ again, but I saw that from a mile away. The moment he let those sparks fly, I dodged to the right, and rushed right at him. He might have predicted that too, and instantly prepared _Iron Head_, cancelling what he was previously doing.

Taking a «Seamitar» from it's scabbard, I threw it towards his face. He seemed surprised by that sudden action and reflexively parried the projectile with his blade, but I had already hid away underground before he noticed. When he did, it was too late. I blasted off from the ground and hit him right in the stomach with my blade. Since _Dig _was a _Ground-type_ move, Sigurd took massive damage and his HP went lower than half, just like mine. He staggered back from the blow, but didn't fall. He's got a pretty good balance, I'll give him that. He smirked when the statement ran through my mind.

"I'll give you one more chance. Surrender and join me. Fight for my cause. You'll get all the riches and fame you could possibly get"

I snapped when he said this. "You just don't know" I said under my breath.

"Huh? Was that a yes?" Sigurd chuckled sarcastically.

I rushed at him once again, and he attacked with _Stone Edge _again. This guy really loves playing with his moves. Either that, or he knows he can't defeat me in one-on-one physical combat. I check my HP. It was still around 45% or so. The next attack should finish him, I thought to myself.

The pointy stones assaulted me from the front. I dodged them again, save for one, which I deliberately let my arm get hit. My HP dropped to around 30%, which was exactly the moment I had been waiting for.

**Samurott** has a passive ability named _Torrent_. This ability amplifies the power of all my _Water-type_ moves by 1.5 times, but only works when my remaining HP is less than 1/3 of my maximum amount. Right now, it was the perfect moment, and I have the perfect move to end it.

Our blades met once again, and a sharp metallic sound reverberated in the air. The stadium was filled with cheers, but I ignored them. The clash ended, and I was sent backwards. He must have seen this as an opening, and tried to vertically slash me with the sword. I simply sidestepped to the right, and prepared my own move. Raising the blade I was holding so that the hilt was parallel with my eyes, my hands started to glow a whitish blue. I was idle, so Sigurd used this chance to try and catch me with another _Thunderbolt_. When the move plays out, he has to wait for the sparks to end until he can move again. In other words, Sigurd is completely defenseless at that single moment. I used this chance to make my final attack.

When the bolt was released for the third time in this battle, I jumped straight up so that I was directly above my enemy. He didn't notice until he heard the sound of accumulating water. But it was too late to react. Turning skyward, all he could see was a burst of water raining down right at him. This was _Brine, _my finishing attack. It's special effect was that if the opponent's HP was lower than half of their maximum, the power is doubled. Brine is salt water, so it's essentially like rubbing salt onto the wounds of my opponent. Coupled with _Torrent_, and the super-effective typing it had against Sigurd, that was enough to empty the rest of his HP bar, ending the match.

The audience erupted with cheer, filling the stadium. I turn to Lyfa, who was smiling. A winners announcement popped up in front of me. I confirmed it. Then the stadium began to turn into blue pixelated shards and disappear completely.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Sigurd was down on his knees. Everyone stared at him like some kind of street performer. One after the other, they started leaving, chatting about the battle no doubt. I stood where I was, sheathing my sword. A moment later, two players emerged from the crowds, who seemed to be Sigurd's allies. They looked at Kirito, then Lyfa, but said nothing.

Slowly, the metal-clad man stood up. He looked at the boy's face one more time. "I will remember you" he spoke, almost silently. Then he turned to Lyfa, who flinched at the glance. He closed his eyes, turned, and walked away, the two players following behind him. After they disappeared, Lyfa took a deep breath. She confronted Kirito with a look of disdain.

"Sorry to get you involved with all this..."

"No, it's all right. But are you okay with this?"

"..."

Instead of saying anything, she pushed Kirito's back, moving him towards the tower. After passing the plaza filled with crowds of players, they reach the door to the base of **«Linked Tower». **It was a very advanced looking tower, with blue powerlines moving through the walls. It's black and white exterior and interior design gives the tower an interesting atmosphere.

This tower was meant to symbolize truth and ideals, from the concept of the two featured legendary Pokémon, **Reshiram **and **Zekrom**. The story said that once, these two were originally one. The Dragon Pokémon made a new land together with twin heroes, and people lived happily with Pokémon. But one day, the older hero sought the truth, and the younger sought the ideal. The single dragon that had walked with the twins was split into two to support both. **Reshiram,** the light dragon, sided with truth. While **Zekrom**, the dark dragon, sided with ideal. They battled, but because they were equal, the conflict would never end. So the struggle was ended. But then the heroes sons began to quarrel again, so the two dragons used their lightning and flames to eradicate the whole Unova region in an instant. But in the end, **Reshiram **and **Zekrom** did their best to create a new land, and this new land is the Unova region right now.

The tower itself was a «Mystery Dungeon». A «Mystery Dungeon» is a special dungeon with lots of floors, where the floor layouts are always changing. The exception with the tower was that the tower's dungeon is actually one big floor, with stairs leading to a higher "level" instead of floors like other smaller mystery dungeons. This made it a different challenge than the average dungeon.

"Wow. It's really big" a voice came from inside Kirito's chest pocket. Kirito was surprised as the little pixie-like person flew out of his pocket and fluttered around in front of him.

"Oh, Yui, you're awake" Kirito smiled at the small girl.

When Kirito booted up **«Pokémon Soul Online» **for the first time, he was surprised to see that the save data from **«Sword Art Online»** had been transferred to this game. He noticed a window that didn't look like the other menu windows and checked it. Shown on that window were abnormal stats. He possessed skills not obtainable in the actual game, such as _One-handed Swords _and a bunch of others which was very strange. Then he proceeded to check his inventory, which had many items but their names were written in some sort of enigmatic combination of letters and numbers. Finally he figured that these skills and items were from his previous save file in SAO. Other than that, all his other stats, such as HP and his moves were fine.

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility. If these items are from **«Aincrad»**, then that item might be here. He scrolled down the menu quickly with his fingertips, face filled with anxiety.

"Please be there..." he muttered.

The scrolling was getting faster, and suddenly Kirito's fingers stopped unconsciously. Listed in front of him was an item like all the others except a green light was emitting from its name, **«**MHCP001**».**

The boy stared at it for a while, not breathing. Slowly, his hands moved and touched the item, still trembling. The menu for "Use Item" popped up, and he pressed it with his index finger.

The window glowed white, and an object formed in front of me. It was a colorless, tear-shaped crystal. Kirito clutched it in his arms. God, please... Kirito prayed and then tapped the crystal twice. The crystal started to glow very brightly.

Astonished, Kirito placed the crystal on the ground as he stepped back. The crystal slowly floated into the air and stopped in the middle. The light kept glowing brighter, and a shadow formed in the middle of the brightness. Long, black hair appeared, drifting in all directions. With her eyes closed, hands crossed on her chest, the figure of a beautiful young girl appeared, wearing a snow-white garment. Slowly, she descended to the ground.

The bright light disappeared afterwards. The girl opened her eyes gently, her eyelashes fluttering. Her pure black orbs fixed on Kirito.

The boy couldn't move. He couldn't even speak. He couldn't even blink.

"Hello, Papa" the girl – Yui – spoke, her soft voice was music to Kirito's ears. Tears in her eyes, she flew straight at Kirito. The two embraced, hugging each other tightly. Yui had lived together with Kirito and Asuna for three short days, before she disappeared. Although very short, the memory was irreplacable for Kirito. The ever so little happy moments in Aincrad were the best memories.

After meeting Yui here, Kirito's resolve to save Asuna became much stronger. He believes they will meet again, and return to the blissful days.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Yui landed on Kirito's head. "Papa, are you thinking something? You seem lost in thought."

Kirito snapped out of his flashback, and picked up the girl from his head.

"Awawa, not so hard, Papa" Yui whined.

"Haha, sorry Yui. I'll be more careful" Kirito reassured her and smiled.

Lyfa puffed her cheeks. She looked sort of jealous. She had already met Yui before, when Kirito helped her defeat some rogue players, but the strange feeling of frustration overtook her. Seeing Kirito smile with another girl, even if said girl was in fact a program made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't know why though. She doesn't have any feelings for Kirito...

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

In this world, Yui became a kind of navigation program called a Pokémon Navigator or «Pokénav» for short. Pokémon Navigators are an application that help the player who owns them. Yui herself explained this to Kirito not long after they met in this world. From her previous form, she changed into a cute little pixie, wearing a pink dress seemingly made out of flower petals and translucent wings growing from her back. Her facial appearance didn't change, but the sudden transformation startled the boy.

"This is what a «Pokénav» would look like" Yui exclaimed as she flew around.

"So, do you have administrator privileges like before?"

"Sadly, not… At the moment, all I can access are maps and reference"

"Ah, I see... Actually..." Kirito changed his demeanor, getting to the main issue. "Asuna – Your mother – it seems that she's here"

"Mama!? What do you mean?" Yui floated in front of the boy's face.

I thought of explaining about Sugou to Yui, but I ended up not doing so. Back in SAO, Yui had suffered from all the negative emotions of humans, and I didn't want to let her suffer again.

"After the SAO servers closed, Asuna did not return to the real world. I received information about a person who looked very similar to her in this world. It is possible that there is a random character made to look like her though"

"Oh...How did things turn out like this...I'm very sorry Papa, if only I could scan player data but without access to the system I can't do it"

"You don't have to blame yourself" Kirito reassured her. "But would you help me look for her?"

"Of course, Papa!" Yui flashed a wide smile.

"Thank you. Anyway, I have a lead on her location, but all I have is this image" I showed her the picture I received from Agil.

"AH! This is definitely Mama, even if she looks different" Yui remarked.

"Do you know the flowery location in the background?" I pointed at the blurry scenery behind Asuna. Yui looked intently, and then she closed her eyes and put her arms on her ears. Kirito watched, fascinated by the little girl's actions. It seems she is trying to access map data.

After a short while, she let down her hands and shook her head. "Sorry Papa, I searched the map database for anything flowery, but I didn't find anything matching with the one in Mama's picture"

"Could you try looking for something called the Sinnoh region?" Kirito asked, remembering what Agil had told him. Yui tried once again, assuming the same pose as before.

"Ah! It's a region far to the East. Would Papa like to go there?" Yui asked, and Kirito nodded in response. It was the only lead he could pursue.

Yui pointed at a large tower they could clearly see from their location. She explained all about their location and that they need to climb that tower to change regions. Kirito listened to this explanation quietly.

"So all I need to do is climb that tower to get to the Sinnoh region?"

"Technically, yes. But lots of strong Pokémon reside inside that tower."

So Kirito decided to strenghten himself so that he could climb the tower, all for Asuna's sake.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Kirito and Lyfa stood in front of the gate that leads to the dungeon. It was quite a large gate, with a statue of **Reshiram** on the left and **Zekrom** on the right. The atmosphere the two statues give was overwhelming.

"So I'm here again..." Lyfa sighed. Kirito, hearing this remark, asked her.

"Oh, right. The first time we met, you told me you were from Sinnoh, is that right?"

Lyfa nodded.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Kirito met Lyfa not long after diving into the world of PSO for the first time. Normal players were supposed to start at a random region, in the first town. For Kirito, he should have been transferred to **«Nuvema Town», **but for an unknown reason he found himself inside a forest, namely **«Pinwheel Forest». **He had already received his starter Pokémon, **Oshawott**, but the Pokémon in the area were much stronger than him, not to mention the abundance of _Grass-types _inside the forest, giving him a complete disadvantage.

Luckily for him, a player was nearby, since Yui had sensed the presence of someone. Little did he know said player was having her own problems.

Lyfa backed herself onto a rock. She was confronted by three other players. All of them merged with different _Fire-type_ Pokémon. If they were to battle, she would be in a severe disadvantage in terms of typing, since she was using her **Leafeon** soul at that time. Lyfa bit her lower lip. She didn't think she would be cornered like this.

In «Pokémon Soul Online», when in outer areas such as routes, caves and forests, players can engage in battles with other players informally, without the need for duel confirmations. This is a feature that emphasizes players to be more cautious. When a player doesn't have anymore usable «Souls», for instance if they all run out of HP, they are instantly transported to the nearest «**Pokemon Center», **but they drop a small portion of their money or items in the process, able to be picked up by other players. Of course, when a party member dies, their ally can pick it up for safekeeping until the person comes back. But this cannot happen when soloing, since one would have no allies. So rogue players have appeared everywhere, suddenly assaulting unsuspecting players and reaping them of their cash and/or items. Another thing about 'dying' in PSO, any «Soul» that has their HP downed to zero will lose a good amount of experience previously gained. There is no such thing as a level-down in PSO, but it can lead to potential problems such as losing a good deal of experience the player used their time to earn. If someone was defeated by another player, then the player that defeated them gains experience points too, so targeting weaker players is an easy way to farm for gold and experience, but those who do this are disrespected by the community.

"Hey, girl. Do you know where this is?" one of the players asked her rowdily. Lyfa didn't answer, shifting her gaze from one player to another.

"This is our turf" another one said. The girl still didn't respond. The third one prepared his weapon: a bright red lance. Seeing this, Lyfa unsheathed her own light green sword.

"Let's not be unreasonable here" she said.

The man in the center, who was apparently the leader, said calmly "I'm sorry, but this is our mission. If you hand over your money and items we'll let you go"

These players were a little different than the usual rogues, but their objective was the same. Lyfa got into her favorite two-handed sword stance, and focused her eyes on the three of the players. "I will definitely take one of you down with me. If you're not afraid of losing some experience, come at me."

The players on the left and right were enraged, but the leader stopped them from acting.

"Give it up. You have nowhere to run"

She was cornered. The only thing behind her was the **«Moss Rock», **a large moss-covered rock, and one of the places she liked the most. Because it was used to evolve an **Eevee **into a **Leafeon**. She was at a complete disadvantage, but she wasn't the kind of person to give up and beg for mercy.

"Stubborn girl. Ah well" the leader shrugged and prepared his own lance, the others following suit. Lyfa was prepared for combat, when an unfamiliar face appeared from a path on the left. The player walked up to them slowly, with an intrigued face.

Lyfa quickly checked his equipment. The boy was wearing a basic blue tunic with a «Scalchop»stuck on the front of his chest part, starting blue trousers and no armor whatsoever. He had no other weapons at the moment, and no matter how you look at it, he's a definite beginner.

"Hey you!" Lyfa called out to the boy. "What are you doing here? Run away while you can!"

But the boy didn't move. Was he not aware that he was severely underleveled, and would be an easy kill from a single attack? What was he doing here anyway? Isn't he supposed to be at the starting town. Lyfa wondered all these questions as the boy opened his mouth to speak.

"Three players attacking one girl, that's hardly fair, isn't it?"

"What?" The two players at the sides scowled at that remark. They moved towards the boy and pressed him from the front and back. Lyfa wanted to help, but she couldn't move carelessly since the leader was still in front of her.

"You're going to be an easy kill for us" said one of the players, licking his lips. The first one started charging with his lance, the second waited a bit, planning to catch the boy by surprise once he dodged the first attack. It wasn't something a newbie could dodge lightly. Lyfa was about to look away. I don't want to see the moment he gets pierced, she thought.

Instead of being pierced like Lyfa thought, the boy casually extended his left hand, caught the lance near its tip and redirected the attack to the one behind him. The two players crashed into each other and collapsed to the ground. Then the boy turned to Lyfa.

"Is it okay to attack these guys?"

"Of course, they were planning to skewer you a few moments ago."

"I see. May I borrow your sword?"

"Um, you can use that thing on your chest as a weapon."

Hearing that, the boy looked at his chest and took the shell-shaped object there. Suddenly, a blade of water emerged from the top.

"Cool" he remarked.

"...Hey! You're not strong enough to take down these guys!" Lyfa suddenly remembered that the boy was still a starter.

The two players he knocked down started to regain their stature, when he took a short step forward. Lyfa expected him to start attacking right away, not sure of what to do, but he looked calm. Taking another step, he readied a sprinting stance and suddenly...

The boy dashed straight at one player, almost unable to be seen. With a boom, the boy ended up quite far from his starting position, the «Scalchop» in his hand with the water blade extended. A super-effective sound effect played as the first player's health went down to exactly half.

Amazing, Lyfa thought. Even at such a starting level, his attack was abnormally powerful. The _Fire-type_ players were around level 30 at that time, and it's shocking to see a simple level 5 player deal that much damage in one attack. Technically, damage is calculated in a series of ways, but the speed of the attack and the precision also counts to damage output. So if his stats were small, then the velocity and accuracy were perfect. Coupled with a super-effective hit because his blade was of the _Water_ element, the damage was fairly large.

"Hmm, so I can't kill them in one hit huh? Let me just do it again..."

Before the players could react, he did the same thing and that first player disappeared in flashes of red, dropping his gold and some of his items. Gaining experience, a level-up window appeared, more than once.

Lyfa was at a loss for words. Not only her, but the leader and the other player was too. It was hard to believe that someone who had just started the game and haven't had a single battle just defeated an experienced player.

Without rest, he began to attack the other player too. In two clean hits, he too, was also reduced to bits of data. Lyfa turned her gaze from the bursting red light to the boy, who confirmed yet another level-up window, then placed the shell back on his chest. He walked towards her and asked the leader:

"Are you going to fight?"

The boy wasn't tense at all. All the leader could do was smile.

"Even if I tried, I'm sure you'll just end up defeating me. Take my items if you'd like"

"You are an honest man" the boy chuckled, then turned to Lyfa. "How about you? Do you want to fight him?"

Lyfa laughed a little. "No thank you, I'm good. Next time I will win"

"To be honest, I don't think I could win a one-on-one against you" the leader confessed, and then turned to the boy. "Feel free to take the items and gold my comrades dropped. I will compensate them later." and after saying that, he took off.

After disappearing into the woods, Lyfa turned to the boy.

"So should I thank you? Should I leave? Or should we fight?"

"I'm just a knight saving the princess from danger" he grinned.

"Would it behoove you to introduce yourself first, before claiming to be my knight in shining armor?" Lyfa remarked with a sarcastic tone.

"Ah, right. My name is Kirito. Now would the princess I just saved kindly introduce herself?" he answered with a similar tone.

"Pfft. I'm Lyfa. Thank you for rescuing me"

Suddenly something flew out of Kirito's chest pocket, and it hovered around.

"Don't get too close to Papa!" the little pixie exclaimed.

"Pa-Papa!?"

Kirito caught the little girl in his arms and extended them. "This little girl here is Yui."

Yui stood up on his palm and gracefully bowed. Lyfa instinctively bowed in return.

"Hey, is that a «Private Pokénav»?"

"A what?"

"It's a promotion from when the game came out first. These are special navigators that can talk and do other things. This is my first time seeing one!" Lyfa's eyes lit up.

Yui was about to answer but Kirito muffled her with his finger. "Ah, I guess it's one of them"

Lyfa looked at the boy again and examined him from top to bottom. Kirito became uneasy. "You're a weird person. You obviously started the game when it first came out, but you're still very low-leveled and using the initial equipment. Even so, you're pretty strong"

"Ah actually, this account was created in the old days but I just started recently. I've been playing another VRMMO for quite a long time now"

That probably explains the quick reflexes and that insane speed, Lyfa thought. If he was familiar with the console, then it was possible to move that quickly.

"So...What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Oh, actually I wanted to go to Sinnoh"

Lyfa raised an eyebrow. Perhaps he was an avid player of the video game back in the real world, and wanted to relive his memories by going into a region that had his memories, but started in the wrong one. Or perhaps he actually studied PSO and wanted to do something specific there.

"Well, actually, I came from Sinnoh" Lyfa said.

"Really now? I've heard that I'm required to climb a tower to get there"

"Well that's true, but..."

She paused.

"You know what? How about you just tag along with me for a bit? I'm sure you'll get your way soon enough"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"And after that, we became friends" Kirito chuckled, looking at the girl in the eyes. Lyfa remained silent, and returned her gaze to the gate in front of them.

"Well, shall we? With your current level, the monsters won't be too much of a challenge"

Kirito nodded, and was just about to take a step forward when...

"Lyfa-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

That signature squeaky voice called from behind. Lyfa twitched her eyebrows.

"I lost you back at the crowd. So you're really going?"

"Recon, I thought I told you not to come with us."

"I know, but I've decided: I want to pledge my sword to Lyfa-chan!"

"No thanks, I don't really need it."

Recon stumbled at these words. Even Kirito was taken aback.

A few moments passed... and finally Recon spoke again.

"Okay. I'll just stay in Sigurd's party for now, Kirito-san. I want to investigate something." The remark caused a few questions to emerge in both Kirito and Lyfa's minds, but they set them aside. Recon turned to the black-clad boy.

"She has a habit of jumping into trouble, so please be careful"

Kirito nodded.

"Also, I want to tell you that she is my-"

Before Recon could finish the sentence, Lyfa stomped on his foot. "Don't say anything unnecessary! Send me a message if anything happens okay!"

Lyfa said as she began to walk closer towards the gate. Kirito followed, leaving Recon behind.

"Take care Lyfa! I'll catch up soon!"

Lyfa turned away as Recon ran off to the opposite direction.

"Is he a friend from the real world?" Kirito inquired.

"Well, yeah"

"Mm, that's nice"

The pixie hiding in his chest pocket remarked: "I am very aware of that person's feelings. He likes Lyfa. How does Lyfa see him?"

Imposed with a strange question, Lyfa flustered. "I don't know"

Taking small steps, they go through the gates that lead to the Mystery Dungeon.

* * *

**Well there you have it. Don't worry, I won't make you wait too long for the next chapter.**

**There are quite a lot of jumps in this chapter. I tried to divide them so it's easier to understand.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone. **

**This is where I start throwing in some of my OCs.**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

"Arrgh!"

A player staggered back from an attack. He had quite a handsome face. His outer appearance resembled that of a dinosaur wearing gray armor, with spiky ridges on its head and back. He had a drill-like horn protruding from the front of his helmet. Below that he had short tufts of brown hair extending from the edges of his headgear. His face gave him a cheerful look, even after taking damage.

"Ryouta, are you all right?" A female voice asked him from behind.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about me." The brown-haired boy answered, stunning the **Bronzong** that hit him before. Readying his lance, he prepared the move _Drill Run_. The tip of his weapon shone a dark brown as it continued towards the back end. "Raaah!" he let out a scream as the tip of his «Killer Lance» pierced through the body of the metallic pokémon.

The **Bronzong** was hit, but its HP went down by a very small amount. Ryouta looked surprised, and leaped back before the pokémon could hit him with a _Gyro Ball_.

"Huh? I thought **Bronzong** was weak to _Ground-type _attacks." Ryouta commented, bewildered. The sound of another **Bronzong** bursting into bits of data came from behind. He looked back and saw a girl. She had long black hair, braided into two long pigtails. Her equipped «Soul» gave her armor resembling a kimono of sorts, with a bright red obi, but still quite easy to move in. Her arm sleeves were flared, giving her a very Japanese look. Several ice crystals decorated her attire.

She turned towards Ryouta and raised her rapier, light blue emitting from the tip. Pointing it at the direction of the **Bronzong **Ryouta failed to defeat, pointed shards of ice shot out. Coming in contact with the bell-shaped pokémon, its HP further decreased, but not enough to defeat it.

"The **Bronzong** here can have two different abilities. One is _Fireproof_, which reduces the power of _Fire_ moves. The other is _Levitate,_ which can drastically reduce, even negate damage from a _Ground-type _attack" the girl explained to him.

"Ahh okay okay. Sorry, Suzu" the boy replied apologetically.

"No harm done. But next time, analyze the enemy before attacking." Suzu flashed a big smile at the boy. Ryouta had smiled back, when suddenly he heard energy accumulate from behind him. When he turned, the pokémon had already formed a _Shadow Ball_ and was about to launch it. Ryouta was just about to dodge when someone quickly rushed from the side, and kicked it in the face, causing the attack to miss while defeating the pokémon itself.

The maroon-haired girl landed safely on the ground. From the looks of it, she looked quite young. She had short round spikes on the back of her hands, as well a third on her chest. She was equipped with light chain mail on top of her cream-colored fur on her torso, and the blue fur on her thighs resembled shorts.

"Whoa, thanks for saving me, Momoko!" Ryouta called out to the girl.

"Hmph." The girl blushed a little, turning her head away.

Looking around, there didn't seem to be any pokémon left. The sound of a door opening on the far side was heard.

"Come on, we should get going. It's almost the end of this area" Suzu exclaimed, raising her fist in the air. Ryouta sighed.

"Can't we rest? I'm kind of tired"

"We can rest after the mission's done, can't we?"

"Ugh, fine"

Suzu and Momoko walked towards the now-opened door leading to the final area, the brown-haired boy following right behind.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Here we are, the Sinnoh region" Lyfa exclaimed as they spawned in front of a gate quite similar to the one back in Unova, but instead of **Reshiram** and **Zekrom, **the door's guardians were **Dialga** and **Palkia**, the rulers of time and space. Kirito quickly took a scan around.

"Doesn't look too different" he commented. Lyfa rolled her eyes.

"This is the Sinnoh region's **«Linked Tower». **They're all mostly the same in structure, just with a different design to depict the regions legend" the girl explained. Kirito just nodded in response. Lyfa pointed at the tower exit, and they both walk towards it.

The outside air was so refreshing, Kirito thought as he took a deep breath. It's not like he actually needs to breathe in this virtual world; his body is breathing unconsciously as he 'sleeps' in the real world. Taking a look around, this was the **«Centerlink City» **in Sinnoh, located on the slopes of **« Mt Coronet », **a large mountain that divides the region into two parts**. **Strange place to put a city, he thought, but the taste of mountain air felt so good.

Lyfa checked her clock. It was getting late. She should return to the real world soon.

"Is it getting late in your place? I might have to log off soon." Lyfa asked Kirito. The boy checked the displayed time, and nodded in response. Lyfa suggested the nearest **«Pokémon Center» **when a player passed in front of them. He was a big bodied man who wore a mask, covering up half his face. On top of the mask was a dark blue crest pointing in three directions. His equipped «Soul» gave him the look of a Chinese dragon. A blue cape strewn down his back, while an armor of glittery blue dragon scales covered the front.

"Hey, Lyfa! Long time no see. Who's the boy here? Wahaha!" he asked in a very cheerful accent, even adding a little laugh at the end. A friend of Lyfa's? He looked to be quite grown up.

"The name's Maxx! That's two of the letter x, plus the exclamation on the back, okay? Maxx! 26 years old, nice to meet you! Wahaha!"

Maxx! stretched out his large hand, and Kirito shook it in response.

"Are you two hungry? Or at least hungry in this world? I've got just the place for you to go. A really special place."

"Um, actually Maxx-san..."

"No no no no! Wrong, boy, wrong! You need to emphasize it. Maxx! Remember, double x, don't forget the exclamation. Now say it with me: Maxx!"'

"But that's what I-"

"You said Maxx. My name is Maxx! You can even call me Sir Maxx! if you want to. Wahaha!"

'This conversation is going nowhere' Kirito thought to himself. Lyfa tugged him on the sleeve, and whispered "Leave this to me."

The girl continued the conversation with the eccentric man, even pronouncing his name correctly. Yui popped her head out of his pocket, but Kirito tucked her back in. Finishing her conversation, or what seemed to be one, Lyfa told Kirito about one of her favorite rest places nearby. It was also getting late for both of them, so Kirito decided it was all right to take a rest. Telling the man they'd love to go with him, he looked ecstatic and started walking, looking quite proud of himself.

Lyfa just giggled and followed. Kirito wasn't an extremely sociable person online, as most of the time he'd just play solo, so he didn't have much experience with meeting new kinds of people. Even so, a new meeting is always an interesting thing to him.

They were led to a small inn, not far from the tower. 'Evanescent Wonder' it said on a large sign. Not very evanescent, Kirito thought. Walking in, they could smell the light scent of jasmine wafting through the area. The walls were embroidered with flowery decor, giving the room a natural feel.

"Is that who I think it is?" a female voice called out. The girl, walking down a set of stairs greeted them. She had burnt orange hair tied into a ponytail. A white flower petal crown was adorned on her head. Her equipped «Soul» gave her a green decorative dress, with a leafy green cape extending from the back of her neck. The end of her long sleeves flared and turned into a bouquet design, red flowers on her right and blue on the left.

"Lyfa! It is you!" she jumped and hugged the blonde girl without a moment's notice, almost knocking her down to the wooden floor. She took great interest in the leaves and sprouts on her personnel, and checked each one of them. Lyfa sweatdropped, trying to pry herself away from the beast.

"Where's your little buddy Recon? I miss him."

"Um, he's still back in Unova..."

Hearing that, the girl pouted and continued to strangle poor Lyfa.

"...So, who's this?" Kirito asked the large man standing next to him, watching the strange yet amusing scene unfold before his very eyes.

"This is Natalie. Me and her are acquaintances of Lyfa, even if she never did add us to her «Friend Roster», Wahaha!"

The wholehearted answer was refuted by Lyfa, still in Natalie's clutches. "Hey, I tried, many times even. But you guys never give me the chance."

"Wahaha! Now that's a laugh. Here, I'll add you now" the man opened his menu, scrolling to the friends list, when suddenly an e-mail popped up. Taking a quick read, his demeanor changed into a more serious one.

"Natalie. Quickly. We found a lead," he said in quick, hushed tones.

"Okaaaaaay!" Natalie detached herself from Lyfa, who lost her balance and toppled onto the floor. Then the girl dashed out of the building.

"Until we meet again, Lyfa!" the man gave a salute before running off, following the restless teenager.

Kirito reached out his hand towards the grounded Lyfa. Seeing this, the girl almost blushed, but held it back and gladly took his hand.

"Thanks"

"Nice friends you have there. Is this what you mean by never getting a chance?"

Lyfa nodded sheepishly. "Shall we get something to eat?" she suggested.

"That sounds great," Kirito agreed.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

They sat face-to-face at a secluded table beside the window. The inn had a restaurant, and it was one of Lyfa's favorites.

"Pick anything you'd like. Just don't eat too much here. You'll regret it later in the real world."

Kirito nodded. When eating in this virtual world, it gives an impression of us being full. This impression does not leave entirely in the real world. It has its merits, such as being able to eat sweet or spicy foods without having to worry about your teeth and/or digestive system, or eating some fat foods without worrying about the intake of calories. Even so, people had to be careful of not eating too much in this world, because then they may suffer from malnutrition. Once in a while, players that have been weakened to death because they were too dedicated with the playing the game are reported on the news.

When the NPC waitress came to take their order, Lyfa asked for a Pecha Poffin and a glass of Fresh Water. Kirito, looking hard at the menu, decided on a Mixed Berry Pie and a bottle of Soda Pop. Yui also took interest in poffins, and ordered a small Oran Poffin. In less than a minute, their order was prepared, and arranged on the table in front of them.

Taking a gulp of his soda, Kirito let out a sigh of relief. Lyfa watched the expression of the boy with enthusiasm.

"So, this place... What's so special about it?"

"Ah, that is..." Lyfa folded her arms and placed them on the table. "Those two guys, Maxx and Natalie, are members of a certain group. They, along with few other people make an alliance. This place is sometimes used as their meeting place, as it isn't too big and not many people come by. The call themselves the **Dawn Brigade**, and they're pursuing a certain sinister organization working behind the scenes in this region. I joined them for a bit, but went to Unova for a few reasons. We still keep in touch, and recently it looks like they found a pretty big lead."

"Keep going," Kirito commented, taking a bite from his pie, the multitude of flavors spreading through his virtual taste buds.

"Um, well, the team they're tracking down is codenamed **Team G**, probably taken from the name **Team Galactic**, who are the main antagonists of the main Sinnoh storyline. Different from **Team Galactic**, who are an NPC programmed team that plots to recreate the Pokémon universe in the story, **Team G** is an organization composed of real people who want to use this game as a means to force money and other things from other people, even in the real world. They are a shady gang and have eluded capture for quite some time now."

"Even from the game masters?"

"The game masters don't do much about players, unless they clearly violate certain rules. They don't interfere with the players directly, but they should have an idea on what's going on. Even then they still don't do anything to stop this madness." Lyfa sipped her water.

Kirito stayed silent. Yui, on the other hand, was munching her bluish cake with great gusto.

Thinking it was a good time to ask a question, Lyfa looked at the boy. "So, we're here in Sinnoh. What do you plan on doing?"

Kirito, in the process of chewing the last bits of his pie, thought deeply for an answer. After gulping, he answered quite casually, "I'm looking for some sort of flowery paradise."

Lyfa raised an eyebrow. Flowery paradise? Was there such a place here in Sinnoh, she thought. She knew the incident with the players discovering a glitch, and it led them to a flowery place, but that's all she knew. Why was this boy so interested in such a place?

"Um, I'm not so sure. We could try to dig up information, but it will probably take quite a while... And since I'm here, the **Dawn Brigade** might contact me for help. Why are you looking for this place?"

"I'm looking for someone." Kirito replied bluntly.

Someone? Lyfa thought it was strange, but she decided not to inquire any more.

"All right, I'll help as much as I can."

"You'll do that? No, you don't have to... You already got me this far."

"I've decided. I'm going to help you!"

Lyfa's cheeks became hot. She just couldn't leave this boy alone. Even if there was little hope in finding the place the boy had been searching for, she still wanted to help.

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Huh? I guess."

"I need to go log out now. Meet me at three in the afternoon. I'm renting a room here. You should too. See you tomorrow."

Lyfa had already stood up and walked a few paces when Kirito called to her. Turning her head, the boy looked into her eyes and said sincerely:

"Thank you."

Lyfa smiled, and walked away.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Kirigaya Suguha slowly opened her eyes. Blinking a few times to clear her vision, she saw the poster she had seen countless times. A male and female character facing towards her, with **Eevee** and its seven evolutions featured in the picture as well. It said "_Pokémon Soul Online: Where Trainers and Pokémon become one_" in fine print.

The girl took off the Amusphere helmet on her head and placed it next to her. In comparison with the Nerve Gear, the Amusphere was a much more delicate machine.

Waa...

Suguha's cheeks showed no signs of cooling down. She was still embarrassed at her actions. She had just realized how bold she had been. Thrashing her legs, she buried her face under her pillow.

Remembering the first time she met him, it wasn't over a month ago. He was relatively a fun player to be with, but they only went on excursions once in a while. What an enigmatic young man. Plus he was very strong, Lyfa thought. If he and her were to cross blades, she would undoubtedly lose. In her one year of play, he was the first person she met that was like that.

"Kirito-kun... hmm" she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I wonder if he's logged out yet..."

...

Back in PSO, Kirito stared at the chair where Lyfa had sat on, with a slightly confused expression written on his face.

"What's up with her?"

Yui, who had finished her meal, took a seat on the boy's shoulder.

"Who knows. I cannot monitor her mental conditions"

"Well it's nice that she offered to help me."

Yui was about to open her mouth when the two noticed a peculiar man walk into the restaurant area. He had a fearsome aura around him, his gleaming blue eyes scanning the room. His appearance resembled somewhat of a lion, with spiky yellow hair and a black-colored mane extending from his upper body to his legs. Slightly visible from Kirito's point of view was a long, thin black tail with a star on its tip. Seeing as Kirito was the only player in the room, he moved closer. Yui quickly jumped into the boy's pocket, her head peeking out slightly.

"You," he said blankly, his gleaming eyes focusing on Kirito's face.

"H-how can I help you?" Kirito stuttered, intimidated by the appearance of the person.

"Have you seen a player by the name of Lyfa around?"

"Uhh..." Kirito couldn't decide whether to tell the truth or lie to this intimidating individual. The boy just stared back at the man, unable to say a word.

"Hmph. From the looks of it, you have something to say, yet you are unsure whether to deceive me or trust me." The man read Kirito completely. Even Yui gasped soundlessly.

"If you ever meet her, tell her the **Dawn Brigade** is looking for her," he said as he turned and went away without as much as a goodbye. Once he was out of sight, Kirito let out a sigh.

"Weird guy. So he's probably a member of that **Dawn Brigade **group, huh?"

Yui flew out and clutched Kirito's left ear.

"I'm scared, Papa."

Patting her lightly on the head, Kirito reassured the little pixie.

"Don't worry."

Yui nodded. Standing up from the seat, Kirito went to the front counter and rented a room on the second floor. Finding the room was quite easy, and then he proceeded to open the door. A very simple layout, with only a bed and a table, plus a little storage box in the corner. Before Kirito bought a house in SAO, he had used these kinds of rooms often.

Kirito laid down on the bed, putting his equipment aside. Yui returned to her original form with her long black hair and snow white dress.

"Papa... can we sleep together until you log out?"

Kirito smiled. It wasn't all too surprising for Yui to ask this, being an artificial intelligence that learns from experience.

"All right, you can"

Kirito moved to the side, making space for the little girl. She jumped onto the bed and snuggled her face against the boy's chest.

"Don't worry, I'll rescue Asuna and then we can live together again," Kirito said as he gently stroked the girl's hair.

"It seems like a dream for the three of us, me and papa and mama to live together again."

Kirito hugged Yui tightly, and whispered:

"It's not just a dream. Soon it will be reality."

"Good night, Papa…"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"I will never forgive them."

Slamming her fist onto the wall, the girl's expression turned into a vicious one.

She had long plum hair streaming down her back. Her eyes were of those who meant serious business, with a greenish eye-shadow design around them. She wore a dress resembling a twisting purple vortex, with green dots decorating the long skirt. She wore brown colored gloves, contrasting the purple color but giving an interesting look.

"Please calm down. We will erase them from this world, I assure you."

The soft voice came from a handsome young man clad in steel armor. His glasses reflected the dim cave light, his spiky magenta hair not as accentuating as in the sun. A razor sharp metal blade extended from his elbows, with red feathers as long as his arm below the blades, making an extension shape very similar to a wing. His hooked metallic tail reflected light like a mirror.

"But to achieve that, we would like you to fight for our cause."

"Me?"

The girl asked, pointing at herself. The young man simply nodded. After thinking long and hard, pressing her index fingers against her forehead, she finally agreed.

"If it means I can get my revenge on those guys, I'll gladly join you, Togou-san, was it?"

Clenching her fists, she seemed resolute. In the darkness, the young man flashed a gentle smile which couldn't be seen.

"Indeed. Welcome to the Dawn Brigade, Madam Marissa."

* * *

**Well, I'll have to end the chapter here.**

**(p.s. were there too many OCs right off the bat? If you need anything clarified, PM me. I'll answer in due time)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone. **

**Well here you go.**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

The kendo room was empty. I looked at my hand, gripping a bamboo sword. I had been practicing by myself, even after my sensei had left. I raised the wooden object slowly, pointing it forward. After a while, I sigh and placed it back in its sheath. More of a case actually; a brown wool case I use to keep the shinai in.

I couldn't focus on my training today. Was it fatigue? No, I haven't done any strenuous activities in the past few weeks. Hmm...

Putting all thoughts aside, I went to the changing room and changed into my uniform. Walking out the club room, a gentle breeze caressed my cheeks. It was a quiet day. All the first and second year students were in class. I walked towards the bike rack, when I noticed someone moving behind me. Quickly turning 180 degrees, I grabbed the brown casing with the sword inside and readied my stance, just like in the game.

"Waah! Lyfa-chan!"

Startled, the thin boy fell to the ground, his glasses drooping.

"Don't call me that at school!"

"S-sorry...Kirigaya-san."

I slung the strap of the cover over my shoulder, returning the shinai to its original position.

"So, what is it that you need?"

"I need to speak with you. Is there somewhere we can talk casually?"

"Here is good."

Nagata Shinichi's shoulders sagged. He cleared his throat.

"You're at Sinnoh, right? In the game? Sigurd wants to go hunting in another dungeon-"

"Tell him I'm not going" I answered quickly.

"I knew you would say that... You're with that Kirito person right?"

"Ah, yeah. I told him I'd help him with his problem."

"You're not doing anything weird, right?"

"Why are you blushing?"

The conversation went on like this for a while, even I slightly blushed. After a bit, Nagata calmed down. I guess he really is just worried about me. Suddenly, he got all serious again.

"It's about Sigurd. I smell something fishy."

I tilt my head, indicating my curiosity. There were rumors about Sigurd, but being famous like that, there are bound to be those everywhere. Things about cheating, or similar subjects. I kept silent.

"I haven't gotten any useful information, but I have my suspicions."

"If you don't have concrete evidence, I can't really do anything about it."

"I know! That's why I'm still investigating!"

"Anyway, I won't be going back to Unova for a while so tell Sigurd for me."

I waved goodbye and jogged to the bike racks. Nagata must have looked pitiful. I heard his light footsteps hit the dirt in the opposite direction. But aside that, the conversation I had with him made me think of Kirito-kun. Something about that player made my heart race.

"I'm just helping him, that's all."

Calming myself down, I went to my bike and unlocked it. I climbed it and started pedaling. Cold air rushed through my face, slightly disturbing my vision, but I kept going. I went through the school's back gate, I turned and went down a steep slope. The wind was even more intense now. I didn't stop. I've flied much quicker than this in virtual reality.

Passing familiar roads, I avoided traffic and managed to reach home before two o'clock. I looked around but didn't see Onii-chan's bike anywhere. He must still be at the gym. Onii-chan is working hard, as always, I thought. Ever since his physical condition recovered from the incident, he's been training a lot in the real world.

That one time, when we practiced kendo, he managed to dodge one of my best attacks. That kind of responsiveness was probably from virtual experience. But he wasn't satisfied at that. He must have felt a big difference between his virtual capabilities and those of his in the real world. Even I sometimes feel like this.

I went inside the house, and then to my room. Taking off my clothes, I hung them on the wall hook. I stood in front of the mirror in my underwear, holding my chest. My heart was still beating fast. I tried taking deep breaths, but it just won't slow down. I thought about Kirito-kun, then my brother, then back and forth.

"Aaa what is wrong with me!"

I shunned my thoughts and put on a t-shirt and shorts. I looked at the time; exactly two o'clock. Settling down on the bed, I put on the Amusphere helmet and closed my eyes.

"Link Start!"

I muttered the words, and I was once again brought into the virtual world.

PSO time is different from real-world time. In consideration of people who can't login all the time, a day in this world lasts sixteen hours. The menu display had real time next to local time, so it was sort of confusing at first. I still have an hour before meeting up, so I decided to check around. With a flying Pokémon, it won't take long to travel around towns. Before exiting the inn, I opened the menu and changed into my **Unfezant** soul. A red burst of light enveloped my body, and shortly turned into a beautiful mixture of light and dark gray feathers.

Lyfa's face was now masked with feathers, and her mouth and nose were covered by a sort of "beak". Her arms were under a cloak of feathers, making up her wings. Her lower half turned brown, and her tail changed from a leafy design to long feathers.

When you change into a different soul, there are a few seconds where you are covered in light. At this moment, you are vulnerable. If, say, you were to be attacked at this moment, the damage will be dealt to the old soul and the switch would fail. Towns and cities are safe, but you need to take precautions when changing souls on the field.

Flying in this game takes practice, but once you can do it, you'll be very agile. People with Flying Pokémon have the ability to fly anywhere, and it makes for an easy travel system. Of course, there is a service named the **Drifblim Balloon Service** which will allow any player to move to any major city or town for a cost, but flying allows for free movement and not just restricted to the cities and towns. Plus its an exhilarating experience.

I was about to do a start dash when she noticed mail in her inbox.

_Lyfa, we request your assistance. Is it possible for you to be present at __**«Floaroma Town» **__around 3 o'clock real time? – Togou_

The email was sent not too long ago. Looks like something had happened. I decided not to go too far and just shop around **«Centerlink City». **Half an hour passed by, and a message appeared notifying Kirito was online. I made my way to the inn once again, and saw him walk out of the door.

"Oh, Lyfa. Is that you?"

I nodded. The boy had his usual smile painted on that mysterious face.

"You're early."

"Yeah, I did a little shopping."

"Ah, I see. I guess I'll need to prepare too."

"I bought general items, so you don't have to worry about that."

Kirito nodded, and checked his equipment and inventory. I wondered if I should tell him about the mail I got. I nodded to myself, and opened my mouth.

"Um, Kirito-kun? Actually, I-"

"Oh, right. Before I logged out yesterday, I met one of the **Dawn Brigade** members. He said you should contact them when you get the chance" the boy said before I could say another word.

"...Actually, they told me I should meet up with them soon."

"Ah, is that so? Where are we going?"

We? Didn't he mean me? Or was he serious?

"You mean, you want to come?"

"Well yeah, sure. I might even find a lead or two about where I'm going."

I thought for a moment. Actually, this might work.

"Okay. We're going to **«Floaroma Town», **a quaint little place but also has many flowers. You might find hints on the place you're looking for there."

"Win-win situation, I see. Let's go!" Kirito exclaimed. I started to flap my wings a bit, and as I started to float in the air, he gestured me to stop.

"Wait. You don't suppose I'll have time to catch a Flying Pokémon, do you?"

I chuckled.

"I think we can get one soon enough. So what kind of Pokémon do you want?"

The boy put his hand to his chin, thinking.

"I want a quick flier. One with a really cool and dark look, if possible."

"You sure like dark colors, don't you" Lyfa commented, opening her «Pokédex», a gadget withholding information about the Pokémon of this world. Scrolling it down to a certain Pokémon, she flipped her menu screen and showed Kirito. It was **Honchkrow**_**, **_the Big Boss Pokémon. Dark blue feathers all over its body, with a white crest on its chest, resembling a cravat. It has a curved yellow beak, and the feathers on its head make it look like its wearing a fedora hat.

"Wow, sure looks like a big boss" Kirito commented.

"We can catch the pre-evolution, **Murkrow**, at **«Eterna Forest». **It's not far from the town we're going to."

The boy nodded, signalling an ok. I slowly glided as we headed to our destination, **«Floaroma Town», **next to Kirito, who was being carried by a **Drifblim**.

"You know, I'm getting tired of being carried around by a balloon Pokémon like this."

"Don't worry, I know the feeling. But once you can fly..."

I stopped mid sentence.

"...I'm not going to spoil it for you."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

**«Floaroma Town». **Vivid and scented, or so it says. Lyfa landed in front of the wooden arch marking the entrance, followed by Kirito.

"Well, here we are. Floaroma Town. Legend says that the land here was once a barren and desolate hill."

The boy examined the vicinity. True to its motto, his virtual nose picked up the scent of many different fragrances, some strong, some soothing, others quite unique. Indeed the meadow was abundant with flowers, swaying back and forth, following the breeze. The town itself wasn't extremely large, compensated by the meadows that stretch behind it. The quaint atmosphere was loved by players who liked to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. The meadows are also a convenient place to gather «Honey», different kinds of herbs, and other kinds of plant-type items, some of which are hard to come by.

"So, what do you need to do here?"

Lyfa herself wasn't sure, but she was spared the explanation when she noticed the leader of the **Dawn Brigade** approach them. His light steps came to a halt. He looked at Lyfa, and then Kirito.

"I believe we have not met before. A friend of Lyfa's? My name is Togou. Pleased to make your acquaintance." the player spoke with a sophisticated tone. He proceeded to gracefully bow, his metal armor glinting in the afternoon light.

"I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you too." Kirito responsively bowed.

Raising his head, he turned to Lyfa, and then to Kirito again.

"Are you here to help?"

Kirito shrugged. "I'll listen to what you have to say first."

"Ah, true. My apologies for asking so bluntly. I have yet to tell Lyfa-san about our modus operandi, so I would believe you have no knowledge of it either."

The two nodded simultaneously. Togou motioned them to follow him.

They followed him to a small store located at the center of the town. It was a flower shop by the name of 'Pick a Peck of Colors'. Opening the door, they were greeted by an NPC shopkeeper.

"Ah, Captain, welcome back." a player said. Togou didn't respond and kept on walking. Lyfa noticed other people inside. There were about thirteen other players total inside the store, some of which Lyfa recognized. Amongst them were Maxx and Natalie.

"So you got new members?" Lyfa asked Togou.

"Not really. Most of the people here simply offer their assistance." he chuckled and called the everyone to gather around.

"All right, everyone. I will explain our mission once again."

The whole room became silent. Chatters and whispers stopped, as everyone paid full attention to the speaker.

"Someone from Team G has triggered a «Special Mission», here in Floaroma Town. The culprit is currently being questioned by one of the **Dawn Brigade** members, but we haven't gotten a straight answer from him, as to how he triggered it and why. Most probably a ruse to cause panic and havoc around the network, yet it has not been confirmed."

"The mission is called «Defense of Floaroma Town». In this mission, a maximum number of sixteen players must defend Floaroma Town from rampaging Pokémon coming from the east and south entrances. The town becomes a battlefield, so aside from buildings, it is not a safe place anymore. Any player not joined in the mission roster and are still located in town will be warped elsewhere, so we do not have to worry about others."

"Normally, the one who triggered a mission must also participate, but these «Special Missions» are different, and thus the culprit has left the mission roster. As far as my opinion goes, this is part of Team G's plot to stall us, the **Dawn Brigade**, or something similar to that effect while they go on about something else, presumably causing more trouble. But this mission is not a walk in the park, and so we need all the help we can possibly get."

"The mission objective is twofold: «Defeat all incoming Pokémon» and «Protect the Flower Shop». As stated, we shan't allow a single Pokémon to desecrate this structure, but we must also defeat each and every one of them. The mission fails when either all members are defeated, or the flower shop is destroyed. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded in sync.

"Right, now I shall announce the sixteen players who will be joining the mission." Togou said as he opened the mission roster.

"The members are as follows: Myself, Ryouta-san, Suzuhara-san, Momoko-san, Maxx-san, Natalie-san..."

The young man read the names on the list one by one, addressing each one formally. Reaching the bottom, there were two empty slots. He turned to Kirito and Lyfa, and flashed them a smile. The two looked at each other for a bit, and nodded again.

"And for the last two slots, Kirito-san and Lyfa-san. Everyone will split into four teams with four members each. Two teams will handle the eastern side, and the rest will station at the southern entrance. Any questions?"

No one spoke up.

"Very well. The mission will start in about fifteen minutes. Once you are ready, please return here. That is all."

The room stayed silent for a bit, and then everyone went back to chattering, most of them walking out the door. A few players stayed inside, looking at their equipment, inventory, and souls. Togou went off somewhere, while Kirito and Lyfa didn't move an inch.

"Sorry for getting you into this. I didn't think it would be this big."

"Hey, I'm the one who insisted."

"Papa, is something big happening?" A little curious pixie poked her head out.

"Just stay put, Yui. This won't be long."

"But I want to see Papa fight!" Yui flew out of the pocket and started twirling around Kirito's head. The boy became startled and tried to catch the little pixie, but she was too agile. Slipping through his fingers, Yui stuck out her tongue playfully and landed on his head. The boy sighed. Lyfa giggled a little. When she noticed Maxx and Natalie approach them, Lyfa put on a straight face.

"Hey, you guys in this too, I see." the rough voice of the man bellowed in the room.

"Woah! You have a «Private Pokénav»? That so rocks! Let me touch it!" the cheerful girl tried to grab Yui from Kirito's head, Yui dodging her clutches.

"Papa! Help meeee" Yui danced about in the air, evading Natalie's mischievous hands.

"Natalie, stop that!" Lyfa snapped at her, and Natalie froze. Yui quickly flew back into her Papa's chest pocket.

"A-ah, sorry sorry. I got carried away." the girl apologized, tapping her head with her knuckle, looking childish.

"It appears we are starting soon. Are you not going to prepare?" Kirito asked them.

"We've been prepared since ages! Wahaha!"

They seemed quite happy. Odd people, Kirito thought.

A quick ten minutes passed by, and everyone was gathered in the shop as planned. After making sure everyone was present, Togou cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Now I will divide the sixteen of us into four parties."

Togou issued the commands, and everyone was quickly sorted into four groups of four members each. Kirito and Lyfa were in different groups, whereas Lyfa was in Group 1 and Kirito in Group 4. Group 1 consisted of Lyfa, Suzu, Ryouta, and Maxx. Group 4 consisted of Kirito, Momoko, Natalie, and Togou himself.

"Groups 1 and 2 will go to the south, 3 and 4 to east. Is that clear?"

No one objected. No one dared to object.

"All right. Then let's go."

Togou, followed by everyone else exited the building. Kirito followed, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. It was Maxx. He whispered into Kirito's ears.

"Lyfa looked a bit disheartened. Maybe she wanted to be in the same group with you."

Then he grabbed Kirito's shoulder again.

"Good luck!" he exclaimed in English, and walked away. The boy closed his eyes for a bit, and then continued walking.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

The east entrance was slightly bigger than the south entrance. I examined the vicinity beyond it: I could see a building, and a lot of windmills. Looks like some sort of power plant, and the windmills work as wind turbines. To the left was a bridge, leading to rough terrain, and I could see a forest from the distance.

Togou was busy checking the time, and the girl named Momoko was leaning against a nearby tree, eyes closed. Huh? Where's Natalie? I look behind me. No one there. I turned again only to see someone standing right in front of me.

"Hey hey Kirito! That girl over there looks lonely. Go and greet her."

It was Natalie, with her usual grin. How did she...

"Why don't you?" I asked back quickly. She looked at me with a confused face.

"Oh, right. I can do that."

I was about to say something, but she was gone again. Watching Momoko from afar, I noticed very stealthy movement from the trees behind her. Noticing this, her eyes opened instantly, and she quickly spun her body. Natalie rushed in and tried to grapple the girl, narrowly missing as Momoko reflexively jumped back in response. But the surprise made her landing unstable, as the little girl tripped backwards. I instinctively caught her as she tipped over.

She let out a little "eek", and shook herself off. Natalie also took a tumble, and landed on the ground headfirst. No actual pain is received from the impact hitting the ground, but it gives a slight numb feeling. She slowly stood up and rubbed her nose.

"Oww. It would have been nice if Kirito-kun had also caught me," she said, sticking her tongue out a little. Momoko glared at her, and she cringed.

"Are you quite finished with the shenanigans? Our mission will begin shortly."

Togou gave them a slightly irritated look. All three of them gave him a 'sorry' face, and reassumed their positions. The four of them; Togou, Kirito, Natalie and Momoko stood side-by-side. The other group was positioned a bit far behind them.

"Remember, we are the vanguard of the eastern defense. Focus your attacks on the strongest of the incoming enemy units."

Everyone nodded, and prepared their weapons.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

I rested my back on the wooden arch, folding my arms. Ryouta and Suzu were chatting not too far from me, so even without the intent of eavesdropping, I could hear them quite well. They were talking about what they should do after the mission is over. Ryouta said they could explore some more, but Suzu opted to get something to eat, both here and back in the real world. They must be real life friends. I wonder how Recon is doing... Wait, why am I even thinking about him. I shake my head, trying to get the thought off.

"Hey, is everyone ready? We'll need all the firepower we can get!" Maxx's asked the three of us. We nodded. We were the rear-guard here, so all we needed to do was take out the ones that slip by the main defense line.

"All right, brace yourselves! Wahaha!" he bellowed again, hands on his stomach. He hasn't changed one bit. Still the lively Maxx I know. He also has great charisma, and can easily influence people around him. Togou also has great influence, but he's not as carefree as this man here.

Suddenly, the «Mission Start!» log popped up in front of me. Everyone received the same message. I straightened myself, pulled out my «Citrus Thorn» out of its sheathe, and gripped it with both hands. The rest also prepared their individual weapons. I noticed the hue of the area had changed into a darker tone, probably marking the mission area.

A strange beaming sound was heard, and a dark portal appeared about fifteen meters in front of the main defense line. The color and shape was distorted, like a black hole but with spirals forming inside of it. A shadowy shape walked out from the middle of the portal, and fell to the ground with a thump. I watch from afar as the shape slowly extended its arm from the face-down position, and used it to right itself back up.

From what I could «analyze», it was a level 30 **Machop.** A small _F__ighting-type _humanoid shaped Pokémon. But something was different with it. There was a dark purple mist emanating from its whole body. I felt like I've seen this before. In an old game, where there were these Pokémon called «Shadow Pokémon». The creature had an eerie feel to it. It started strolling casually towards the town.

I assume this mission would be a type of "Tower Defense" game, an archetype of real-time strategy games. The goal was to stop incoming enemies from progressing to the goal with towers, except this time we act as the towers. I kept that in mind as I watched a player with a **Druddigon** Soul intercept the creature and brought his axe up. The weapon went down and cleaved through its head, causing a red streak to form on the Pokémon. Its HP bar kept decreasing, until it hit 0. The Pokémon cried a slightly distorted cry, then disappeared in purple colored polygons of data. No experience was gained. The mission probably made it so that we didn't gain experience from defeating the Pokémon.

More shapes swirled out through the portal, as several different kinds of Pokémon formed. All of them had the same purple smoke encircling their bodies. The Pokémon marched forward, expressionless. The four members of the front-line intercepted them, and the creatures started to attack.

I watched as most of the Pokémon were defeated by the main force. They were quite capable. As the tip of one's blade pierced through the stomach of an **Ursaring**, it collapsed to the ground, disappearing shortly afterwards. There was a pause in the enemy forces, so I checked the status of the four front line players: no one seemed to have suffered critical damage, but the fatigue of continued fighting had taken a toll on their systems.

The portal started convulsing once again, small bits of purple electricity forming here and there. The front-line prepared their weapons once again, but suddenly a burst of shadow shot out of the portal like a rocket, ignoring the players and continued flying straight. I couldn't analyze it quick enough, and instead brought up my blade to try and slash it. To my surprise, Ryouta jumped in front of me, and the shadow crashed into his steel shield.

"Whoaa!"

The force pushed him back, his legs dragging the dirt behind him. But he was sturdier than I thought, and managed to repel the shadow, making it crash onto the gravel in front of him. Before it faded away, I could make out the faint shape of a small bird.

More of those shadows started flying out of the portal. I can safely say they are **Starly**, a common bird Pokémon found in Sinnoh. It appears that a single hit would defeat them, but they were a quick bunch. Luckily they flew in a straight line, which made it easy for everyone to block their path. I managed to deflect three with my «Citrus Thorn», when I noticed a large one heading quickly. It had a velocity unlike the other starlings, and easily burst through the front line. Intercepting it this time was Suzuhara, and with a slight hand gesture, she launched an _Ice Beam_, piercing through the target, slowing it down but not stopping its movement.

She gave me a quick glance. I nodded and leaped towards the end of the beam, brought up my katana, and sliced the shadow in half. It turned out to be **Staraptor**, the final evolution of the aforementioned **Starly**. Disappearing into data, I noticed more come out of the portal.

"Looks like these guys won't give up that easily," I muttered under my breath, preparing for another strike.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"I-is that everything?"

Natalie said, out of breath. Looking around, everyone seemed worn out. Togou kept his head high, but there was no doubt he was tired. After all, we just managed to dispel the seemingly endless onslaught of Bird Pokémon. I sheathe my «Dark Resolution», and look up to the sky. It was still dark. Does this mean the mission isn't over yet?

There weren't any signs of leftover Pokémon. The portal spawning them had also closed. Could we have missed something? No, that's not possible. I check the quest log: Both of the objectives hadn't been completed yet. I caught a glimpse of Togou's face, and it bore the same expression as mine. Standing up straight, I stretched my arms. It felt nice.

A few moments passed. No one said anything. Finally I spoke up, suggesting we check the flower shop. Togou opened his mouth to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by a shrill distorted noise. I noticed a flux of dark energy in the sky above the town. The same kind of purple electricity as the portals emitted from the darkness. Could that be...?

My fears were realized as the dark energy formed a circular shape in the sky. It was a portal, just as I suspected. I wasn't too surprised, but what shocked me more was what came out of the portal shortly after. With a piercing scream, a large serpentine form slowly emerged from the twisting darkness. Six spikes protruded from its lower body. As it descended, six black streams of darkness could be seen from its back, each with a red spike on the ends. Its head was encased within a golden metallic plate, only showing its glaring red eyes.

"N...no way..." Momoko muttered in disbelief.

"**Giratina**. Origin Forme." Togou stated.

Indeed, it was **Giratina**, one of Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon. While **Dialga** and **Palkia **represent time and space, this Pokémon represented the void between the two, and the antimatter that spreads through it. It normally resides in the **«Distortion World», **but it has the ability to travel through dimensions.

I thought **Giratina **had its own event quest, one that makes you go into the **«Distortion World» **itself. I couldn't believe a Pokémon as massive as this one would appear on a quest like this. The metal tip enclosing the Pokémon's mouth opened, and it screamed one more time.

"This is bad. Everyone, let's go." Togou commanded, and started running towards the center of town. I followed, along with everyone else. There was no wind when I dashed. It felt hollow. The background music had stopped playing. It was just the crunching noises of our footsteps on the gravel now. Twenty meters from the beast, I could already feel the strong pressure emanating from it.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Lyfa and the others. They were also running at full speed towards the monstrosity now hovering menacingly above the flower shop. Suddenly **Giratina** raised its head and a gust of black wind surrounded him. The wind scattered in several directions, a few heading towards us. I was prepared to dodge, when one of the group members jumped ahead. She had a **Gardevoir** Soul equipped, and raised her hands. A transparent barrier of energy formed in front of her. This was _Light Screen_, a move that weakens or even dispels Special moves. Everyone stopped running as the wind clashed with the screen, emitting an ominous sound. I noticed the southern team had also been targeted. One of them used _Protect_, but that defensive move won't last long.

A second wave of _Ominous Wind_ was released. At this rate, we won't even get close to **Giratina.** I look for an opening. If only the monster would use a different attack, one that doesn't hit everyone. Then I might be able to launch a surprise attack.

The one using _Protect_ on the other group fell back, and they swapped to Ryouta, who used a _Protect _of his own. Theoretically, they could hold the endless attacking if they alternated _Protects_, but sooner or later they will run out of PP. Just as I was thinking this, our _Light Screen_ user had flinched, and the barrier was broken. The **Giratina **AI, seeing this, charged up an intense amount of energy in front of its mouth. It was _Hyper Beam_, an extremely strong Special attack. If launched directly at us, I doubt anyone would survive a hit. Togou issued dodging commands, but everyone couldn't move due to the terror. Even my legs felt like jelly. I noticed Lyfa, her eyes fixed on me. She looked genuinely worried. She seemed to have shouted a few words, but the charging sound of the beam made it inaudible. Looking back at the monstrosity, now there was a red ball of energy in front of its mouth. All it needed to do was shoot.

And it did. But to my surprise, it didn't shoot at us, but at Lyfa's group instead. The ball turned into a giant red beam and hurdled towards them. I reach out and scream Lyfa's name from the top of my lungs. She reached out to me herself, and I thought I saw virtual tears for a moment.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Is it over? I thought to myself. Was I dead? Or at least in this virtual world. It wasn't a very nice feeling if I did. I tried moving my hands: they were still there, clutching something that felt like grass. Slowly opening my eyes, I could see the ground. They weren't focused yet, probably due to the flash of the impact. But I was still here. Still in Floaroma.

I tried raising my body, but my arms were numb. I did manage to turn my face towards where **Giratina** was. It was still there, but there was something else. A person? They were inside a sphere of pulsing green energy. The light emitting was too bright; I couldn't see much else.

My raised head hit the ground again, and I closed my eyes.

...

"...fa."

"Ly...fa"

Someone called me. A voice that reminded me of my Onii-chan.

"Lyfa..."

"Lyfa!"

My vision was still blurry when I opened my eyes again. There was a face. The face of someone I know. Kirito...kun?

"Uwa!"

I was on the ground, but I realized Kirito-kun had me in his arms. I squirmed and forced him to let me go.

"Whoa whoa hey! What's the problem?"

He chuckled. I saw Maxx and Natalie, and they chuckled too. I was mortified.

"Wh-wh-what happened to **Giratina**? What about the quest?" I stutter.

"It's over. Wahaha!"

"How?"

"We're not sure either." Natalie remarked. "There was this green flash of light. Then the big monster just up and disappeared!"

I stood up and brushed my torso.

"So what now?"

"Everyone else is waiting inside the flower shop. Come on!" Natalie tugged on my sleeve.

"All right... Just give me a second."

The girl nodded and walked towards the shop. Maxx followed her, leaving me with Kirito-kun.

"Come on. Let's go."

I nodded. I walked a few steps ahead of the boy.

"Papa..." Yui poked her head out.

"Hm, what is it, Yui?"

The little pixie fluttered around Kirito's head, stopping exactly in front of his face, her eyes level with his. It was always a fascinating thing to see her fly.

"When there was that green burst of energy..."

The boy looked at Yui, and she had a serious expression. Kirito scratched his head.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I...sensed Mama. Even for a split second, I'm sure Mama was here."

* * *

**Uh, I have nothing much to say.**

**Please review! Constructive criticism please!  
**


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